Calibrated Landsat TM LAI retrieval for monitoring vegetation cover change after ecological releases to the lower Tarim river

This study used high resolution images as a ground measurement tool for a region, where mapping of spatial and temporal vegetation cover variation by ground survey is impossible. Leaf Area Index (LAI) maps were derived from DigitalGlobe or GeoEye images and resampled to 30m resolution. Landsat TM imagery was used to produce NDVI maps. The NDVI from TM and LAI from high resolution images show good correlation for the three test sites chosen in the lower Tarim river basin. The correlations were then used to produce LAI maps on river basin scale from Landsat TM imagery. The results showed that this method provides good local calibration for converting NDVI maps from Landsat TM imagery to LAI maps to be used in hydrological modeling.