Assessment of the Condition of High Altitude Pastures in South Tibet Supported by Land Cover Maps Derived from ASTER Satellite Data

The paper describes and discusses the experience in mapping pasture types on the Tibetan Plateau. After pasture data recording in the fi eld campaign of 2004 the application of remote sensing and GIS to refi ne the vegetation mapping became viable. The vegetation types that resulted from the analysis of the fi eld data were aggregated into four main categories ( ́Kobresia pasture`, ́Miscellaneous`, ́Steppe`, ́(Semi) desert`). These categories correspond to the amount of biomass. ASTER satellite data were used to produce base maps for the fi eld studies and to classify the different vegetation types and stages according to their quality and potential use as pasture. The map provides useful information about the pasture productivity. Concerning the fodder quality, it must be interpreted with caution, because vegetation dominated by poisonous plants can not be differentiated from valuable pasture types within the category ́Miscellaneous`.