Spectral Indices for Estimating Exposed Carbonate Rock Fraction in Karst Areas of Southwest China

The quantitative estimation of the fractional cover of carbonate rock (CR) is critical for natural resource management and ecological conservation in karst areas. Based on the analysis of spectral properties of CR together with other land cover types, we proposed two CR indices (CRIs) and established the model that represents the relationships between the CRIs and the fractional cover of CR. Then, the fractional cover of CR was estimated by using the developed model. Experimental results on Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager images acquired at Southwestern China demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed model. Compared with other indices, the proposed CRIs show the highest correlations with the fractional cover of CR.