Field reflectance spectroscopy of sparse vegetation cover on the Antarctic Peninsula

The results of a field spectroscopy campaign that aimed to provide ground truth data for validation of NDVI-based vegetation maps of the region around the British Antarctic Survey Rothera Research Station are presented. As part of this research, laboratory and field reflectance spectra were acquired from the main vegetation types exposed in the study area that included grasses, mosses, lichens and algae. High-quality lab spectra of fresh and senesced vegetation samples displayed typical reflectance properties and were compiled into a spectral library of Antarctic Peninsula vegetation types. Field spectral surveys over sparsely vegetated areas were used to estimate the fractional cover of Photosynthetic Vegetation (PV) and different vegetation species with results that were consistent with a high-resolution VNIR aerial photograph.