Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the management of mountain meadows

The aim of the study was to test the possibility of using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for distinguishing between differently managed mountain grassland sites surrounded by boreal forests. The NDVI was assessed under field conditions in three differently managed meadows (mown, mulched, unmanaged), at an altitude of 1150 to 1170 m in the Bohemian Forest Mts. The mowing and mulching were applied to the respective plots in mid-July and three successive NDVI/aboveground biomass assessments were made before and two after the application of the treatments. The presence of litter, expressed by the green ratio index (GR), strongly affected the reflectance of the grassland canopy. The linear relationships between green biomass and NDVI were statistically significant for all treatments only during the period before the application of the treatments. It was only in the unmanaged plot that a statistically significant linear relationship between NDVI and GR was recorded.