Abstract: Based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the actual observation data, the pasture production estimation models for different types of grassland in Qinghai Province were established and validated. The results showed that all the models had high precision, and the correlation coefficients (R²) obtained from all regression equations were higher than 0.67, indicating that the models could be used to estimate the pasture production in a large area at a near-real time. By using the established models, the monthly pasture production on a cell scale in the province from May to August 2004 was retrieved. Based on the images of pasture production distribution retrieved in different periods, the temporal-spatial distribution pattern of pasture production was analyzed, and the results indicated that in Qinghai Province, the temporal distribution of pasture production was mainly determined by the pasture growth cycle and climate change, while the spatial distribution was related to the grassland type and its climatic attributes.

Key words: Phytoplankton, Toxin, Zooplankton