Structural and functional mapping of geosigmeta in Atlantic coastal marshes (France) using a satellite time series

AbstractGeosynphytosociology deals with the study of combinations of vegetation series – or geosigmeta – within landscape. Its main advantage is to assess conservation status based on vegetation dynamics. However, this field-based approach has not been widely applied, because local surveys are not representative of spatio-temporal landscape complexity, which leads to uncertainties and errors for geosigmeta structural and functional mapping. In this context, satellite time series appear as relevant data for monitoring vegetation dynamics. This article aims to assess the contribution of an annual satellite time series for geosigmeta structural and functional mapping. The study area, which focuses on the French Atlantic coast (4630 km²), includes salt, brackish, sub-brackish and fresh marshes. A structural vegetation map was derived from the classification of an annual time series of 38 MODIS images validated with field surveys. The functional vegetation map was derived from the annual Integral of Normalized...