VegMeasure: Image Processing Software for Grassland Vegetation Monitoring

Abstract

Vegetative inventories, whether they are agronomic, ecologic, range, or forestry, often measure plant cover. Vegetation cover is a fundamental param- eter in many studies of plant ecology. It is used to measure the surface of the ground exposed to the direct impact of rain drops, sunlight and it is also used to monitor changes in vegetation structure over time. VegMeasure®, an image pro-cessing software, was developed to monitor vegetation cover over a period of time, through utilizing green leaf and brightness algorithms as well as K-means classifications. This study demonstrates that digital image processing of vegetation can be fast and affordable, through creating a permanent digital record that can be revisited over time.