Abstract: Desertification is closely related with the vegetation coverage of sands in the Ordos region. Dynamwith titoring of vegetation coverage of sands using NOAA satellite data can usefully aid in the understanding of the dynamic processes of desertification in the Ordos region. By analyzing the sand reflectance mechanism we built a correlative model between the coverage of Artemisia ordosica community and a modified soil adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI). Satellite data required processing before the application of the correlative model: atmospheric effects were corrected using the bare sand soil line method and soil background effects reduced using the MSAVI.

Key words: Coverage, Vegetation index, Satellite remote sensing, Modeling