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Using Landsat Data to Detect Change in Live to Recently (<6 Months) Dead Coral Cover in the Western Xisha Islands, South China Sea

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  • Xiuling Zuo

    (School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
    State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
    Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Coral reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China)

  • Fenzhen Su

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Junjue Zhang

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Wenzhou Wu

    (State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

The amount of live and dead coral is related to recruitment, but differentiating them by remote sensing techniques is difficult. We measured change in the amount of live, bleached, and recently (<6 months) dead coral cover (CCA6) for an island archipelago in the South China Sea. Six Landsat 4/7 ETM/8 OLI images from 1989–1990, 2005, and 2014 were analyzed to assess changes in CCA6 at 14 coral reefs in the western Xisha Islands. Satellite images were georectified and calibrated to remote sensing reflectance. Models for three shallow water (<6 m) geomorphic zones throughout the western Xisha Islands are proposed based on ground-truthed data collected in 2014 and satellite-determined spectral values for 2014 images. Nonlinear models based on Landsat image blue spectral bands for reef slope and lagoon habitats, and green bands for reef flat habitats, are determined as optimal models. Significant changes in CCA6 from 2005 to 2014, and changes in coral reefs and geomorphic zones, correlate with increased numbers of both crown-of-thorns starfish, and sea surface temperature in 2007. Detecting change in CCA6 by remote sensing can provide large-scale information of value for coral reef management, restoration, and protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiuling Zuo & Fenzhen Su & Junjue Zhang & Wenzhou Wu, 2020. "Using Landsat Data to Detect Change in Live to Recently (<6 Months) Dead Coral Cover in the Western Xisha Islands, South China Sea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:13:p:5237-:d:377280
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mathieu Pernice & David J. Hughes, 2019. "Forecasting global coral bleaching," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(11), pages 803-804, November.
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