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Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important parameters for determining grassland canopy conditions. LAI controls numerous biological and physical processes in grassland ecosystems. Remote-sensing techniques are effective for estimating grassland LAI at a regional scale. Comparison of LAI inversion methods based on remote sensing is significant for accurate estimation of LAI in particular areas. In this study, we developed and compared two inversion models to estimate the LAI of a temperate meadow steppe in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China, based on HJ-1 satellite data and field-measured LAI data. LAI was measured from early June to late August in 2013, obtained from 326 sampling data. The back propagation (BP) neural network method proved better than the statistical regression model for estimating grassland LAI, the accuracy of the former being 82.8%. We then explored the spatio-temporal distribution in LAI ofStipa baicalensisRoshev. in the meadow steppe of Hulunbuir, including cut, grazed, and fenced plots. The LAI in the cut and grazed plots reflected the growth variations inS. baicalensisRoshev. However, because of the obvious litter layer, the LAI in the fenced plots was underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Grassland vegetation growth directly reflects plant growth conditions, and growth processes are an important component of ecological status assessments of grasslands and can provide timely guidance for agricultural production. In this study, the Xilingol Grassland in Inner Mongolia was used as the study area, and a monitoring indicator system for the remote sensing of grassland vegetation growth was established based on 16 days of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and ground sampling data, which were used to assess the suitability of the indicator system. A monitoring indicator system for the remote sensing of grassland vegetation that included the modified growth index (MGI)-normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), MGI-enhanced vegetation index (EVI), growth index (GI)-NDVI, and GI-EVI was established by using the year 2000 as the base year, two vegetation indices and difference and normalized difference methods. A model for estimating the ground growth (g) was then constructed by using expert opinion scoring and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine the weights of vegetation coverage (c), height (h), and yield (y) in the ground plots, with the model calculated as follows:g = 0.2543c + 0.1848 h + 0.5609y. Additionally, the ground growth value was calculated according to the ground growth model, and the values obtained from the remote-sensing indicators in the corresponding region were subjected to a correlation analysis based on this partition. The remote-sensing growth indices suitable for temperate steppe, meadow steppe, and desert steppe regions were GI-EVI, MGI-NDVI, and GI-NDVI, respectively. Finally, vegetation growth in the Xilingol Grassland was evaluated using the optimal remote-sensing GI for each area, and the results indicated that the areas with the greatest growth improvement occurred in the temperate steppe region followed by the meadow steppe region, whereas vegetation growth improvement was insignificant in the desert steppe region. The results of this study have important significance for the economic development and ecological environmental improvement of pastoral and semi-pastoral regions and can be used to determine the optimal use and scientific management of grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]