ABSTRACT
Located in the northern Jiangxi Province, the Poyang Lake wetlands have played an important role in controlling floods, providing habitation, purifying toxicants, and adjusting climate. This valuable resource has been severely depleted in recent years due to excessive exploitation, resulting in the decline of the wetland’s functions and self-restoration ability (Zhang 2004, Zhu et al. 2004). The inaccessibility of the area makes it difficult and expensive to monitor and assess the dynamics of this freshwater lacustrine system. Thus, remote sensing technology has become a necessary and efficient tool for this task (Nepstad et al. 1999). Remotely sensed data have been extensively used to map land cover (including wetland areas) for the purpose of environmental conservation, for example, identifying areas demanding protection and monitoring important habitats (Steininger et al. 2001, Turner et al. 2003).
