Analysis of trends in the Sahelian 'rain-use efficiency' using GIMMS NDVI, RFE and GPCP rainfall data

Remote Sensing of Environment

Volumn 115, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 438-451

  Fensholt, Rasmus ^a   Rasmussen, Kjeld ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN   (Denmark)

Author keywords

GIMMS NDVI; Land degradation; RFE and GPCP rainfall; RUE; Semi arid; Trend analysis

Indexed keywords

GIMMS NDVI; LAND DEGRADATION; RFE AND GPCP RAINFALL; RUE; SEMI ARID; TREND ANALYSIS;

ARID REGIONS; CLIMATE CHANGE; DEGRADATION; OBSERVATORIES; PRODUCTIVITY; VEGETATION;

RAIN;

ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECT; ARID REGION; DATA QUALITY; DATA SET; DECADAL VARIATION; LAND DEGRADATION; NDVI; RAINFALL; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; SATELLITE DATA; SEMIARID REGION; TREND ANALYSIS;

SAHEL [SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA]; SUDAN;

EID: 78650869899     PISSN: 00344257     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2010.09.014     Document Type: Article

References (77)

1. Adler R.F., Huffman G.J., Chang A., Ferraro R., Xie P.P., Janowiak J., et al. The version-2 global precipitation climatology project (GPCP) monthly precipitation analysis (1979-present). Journal of Hydrometeorology 2003, 4:1147-1167.
2. Anyamba A., Tucker C.J. Analysis of Sahelian vegetation dynamics using NOAA-AVHRR NDVI data from 1981-2003. Journal of Arid Environments 2005, 63:596-614.
3. Bai Z.G., Dent D.L., Olsson L., Schaepman M.E. Proxy global assessment of land degradation. Soil Use and Management 2008, 24:223-234.
4. Bai Y., Wu J., Xing Q., Pan Q., Huang J., Yang D., et al. Primary production and rain use efficiency across a precipitation gradient on the Mongolia Plateau. Ecology 2008, 89(8):2140-2153.
5. Begue A. Leaf-area index, intercepted photosynthetically active radiation, and spectral vegetation indexes - A sensitivity analysis for regular-clumped canopies. Remote Sensing of Environment 1993, 46:45-59.
6. Brown M.E., de Beurs K.M. Evaluation of multi-sensor semi-arid crop season parameters based on NDVI and rainfall. Remote Sensing of Environment 2008, 112:2261-2271.
7. Brown M.E., Pinzon J.E., Didan K., Morisette J.T., Tucker C.J. Evaluation of the consistency of long-term NDVI time series derived from AVHRR, SPOT-Vegetation, SeaWiFS, MODIS, and Landsat ETM+ sensors. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 2006, 44:1787-1793.
8. Budde M.E., Tappan G., Rowland J., Lewis J., Tieszen L.L. Assessing land cover performance in Senegal, West Africa using 1-km integrated NDVI and local variance analysis. Journal of Arid Environments 2004, 59:481-498.
9. Casenave A., Valentin C. A runoff capability classification-system based on surface-features criteria in semiarid areas of West Africa. Journal of Hydrology 1992, 130:231-249.
10. Davenport M.L., Nicholson S.E. On the relation between rainfall and the normalized difference vegetation index for diverse vegetation types in East-Africa. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1993, 14:2369-2389.
11. Diallo O., Diouf A., Hanan N.P., Ndiaye A., Prevost Y. AVHRR monitoring of savanna primary production in Senegal, West Africa - 1987-1988. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1991, 12:1259-1279.
12. Dinku T., Ceccato P., Grover-Kopec E., Lemma M., Connor S.J., Ropelewski C.F. Validation of satellite rainfall products over East Africa's complex topography. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2007, 28:1503-1526.
13. Diouf A., Lambin E.F. Monitoring land-cover changes in semi-arid regions: Remote sensing data and field observations in the Ferlo, Senegal. Journal of Arid Environments 2001, 48:129-148.
14. Eklundh L. Estimating relations between AVHRR NDVI and rainfall in East Africa at 10-day and monthly time scales. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1998, 19:563-568.
15. Eklundh L., Olsson L. Vegetation index trends for the African Sahel 1982-1999. Geophysical Research Letters 2003, 30.
16. Evans J., Geerken R. Discrimination between climate and human-induced dryland degradation. Journal of Arid Environments 2004, 57:535-554.
17. Farrar T.J., Nicholson S.E., Lare A.R. The influence of soil type on the relationships between NDVI, rainfall, and soil-moisture in semiarid Botswana. 2. NDVI response to soil-moisture. Remote Sensing of Environment 1994, 50:121-133.
18. Fensholt R., Anyamba A., Stisen S., Sandholt I., Pak E., Small J. Comparisons of compositing period length for vegetation index data from polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites for the cloud-prone region of West Africa. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 2007, 73(3):297-309.
19. Fensholt R., Rasmussen K., Nielsen T.T., Mbow C. Evaluation of earth observation based long term vegetation trends - Intercomparing NDVI time series trend analysis consistency of Sahel from AVHRR GIMMS, Terra MODIS and SPOT VGT data. Remote Sensing of Environment 2009, 113:1886-1898.
20. Fensholt R., Sandholt I., Rasmussen M.S., Stisen S., Diouf A. Evaluation of satellite based primary production modelling in the semi-arid Sahel. Remote Sensing of Environment 2006, 105:173-188.
21. Flitcroft I.D., Milford J.R., Dugdale G. Relating point to area average rainfall in semiarid West-Africa and the implications for rainfall estimates derived from satellite data. Journal of Applied Meteorology 1989, 28:252-266.
22. Goel N. Theory and applications of optical remote sensing. Theory and applications of optical remote sensing 1989, Wiley, New York, (pp. xiv, 734 p.). G. Asrar (Ed.).
23. Goward S.N., Prince S.D. Transient effects of climate on vegetation dynamics: Satellite observations. Journal of Biogeography 1995, 22:549-564.
24. Groten S.M.E. NDVI - Crop monitoring and early yield assessment of Burkina Faso. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1993, 14:1495-1515.
25. Hein L. The impacts of grazing and rainfall variability on the dynamics of a Sahelian rangeland. Journal of Arid Environments 2006, 64:488-504.
26. Hein L., de Ridder N. Desertification in the Sahel: A reinterpretation. Global Change Biology 2006, 12:751-758.
27. Henricksen B.L., Durkin J.W. Growing period and drought early warning in Africa using satellite data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1986, 7:1583-1608.
28. Herman A., Kumar V.B., Arkin P.A., Kousky J.V. Objectively determined 10-day African rainfall estimates created for famine early warning systems. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1997, 18:2147-2159.
29. Herrmann S.M., Anyamba A., Tucker C.J. Recent trends in vegetation dynamics in the African Sahel and their relationship to climate. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions 2005, 15:394-404.
30. Heumann B.W., Seaquist J.W., Eklundh L., Jonsson P. AVHRR derived phenological change in the Sahel and Soudan, Africa, 1982-2005. Remote Sensing of Environment 2007, 108:385-392.
31. Hickler T., Eklundh L., Seaquist J.W., Smith B., Ardo J., Olsson L., et al. Precipitation controls Sahel greening trend. Geophysical Research Letters 2005, 32.
32. Hielkema J.U., Prince S.D., Astle W.L. Rainfall and vegetation monitoring in the Savanna Zone of the Democratic Republic of Sudan using the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1986, 7:1499-1513.
33. Hiernaux P., Mougin E., Diarra L., Soumaguel N., Lavenu F., Tracol Y., et al. Sahelian rangeland response to changes in rainfall over two decades in the Gourma region, Mali. Journal of Hydrology 2009, 375:114-127.
34. Holben B.N. Characteristics of maximum-value composite images from temporal AVHRR data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1986, 7:1417-1434.
35. Huete A.R. A Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI). Remote Sensing of Environment 1988, 25:295-309.
36. Huete A., Didan K., Miura T., Rodriguez E.P., Gao X., Ferreira L.G. Overview of the radiometric and biophysical performance of the MODIS vegetation indices. Remote Sensing of Environment 2002, 83:195-213.
37. Huffman G.J., Adler R.F., Arkin A., Chang A., Ferraro R., Gruber A., et al. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) combined precipitation data set. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1997, 78:5-20.
38. Huxman T.E., Smith M.D., Fay P.A., Knapp A.K., Shaw M.R., Loik M.E., et al. Convergence across biomes to a common rain-use efficiency. Nature 2004, 429:651-654.
39. James M.E., Kalluri S.N.V. The Pathfinder AVHRR land data set - An improved coarse resolution data set for terrestrial monitoring. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1994, 15:3347-3363.
40. Justice C.O., Dugdale G., Townshend J.R.G., Narracott A.S., Kumar M. Synergism between NOAA-AVHRR and Meteosat data for studying vegetation development in semiarid West Africa. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1991, 12:1349-1368.
41. Kerr Y.H., Imbernon J., Dedieu G., Hautecoeur O., Lagouarde J.P., Seguin B. NOAA AVHRR and its uses for rainfall and evapotranspiration monitoring. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1989, 10:847-854.
42. Larcher W. Physiological plant ecology: Ecophysiology and stress physiology of functional groups 1995, Springer-Verlag, Berlin; New York.
43. Le Houérou H.N. Rain use efficiency - A unifying concept in arid-land ecology. Journal of Arid Environments 1984, 7:213-247.
44. Le Houérou H.N. The grazing land ecosystems of the African Sahel 1989, Springer-Verlag, Berlin; New York.
45. Lebel T., Ali A. Recent trends in the Central and Western Sahel rainfall regime (1990-2007). Journal of Hydrology 2009, 375:52-64.
46. Lebel T., LeBarbe L. Rainfall monitoring during HAPEX-Sahel. 2. Point and areal estimation at the event and seasonal scales. Journal of Hydrology 1997, 189:97-122.
47. Lebel T., Taupin J.D., DAmato N. Rainfall monitoring during HAPEX-Sahel. 1. General rainfall conditions and climatology. Journal of Hydrology 1997, 189:74-96.
48. Lind M., Fensholt R. The spatio-temporal relationship between rainfall and vegetation development in Burkina Faso. Danish Journal of Geography 1999, si02.
49. Los S.O. Estimation of the ratio of sensor degradation between NOAA AVHRR channels 1 and 2 from monthly NDVI composites. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 1998, 36:206-213.
50. Malo A.R., Nicholson S.E. A study of rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the African Sahel using normalized difference vegetation index. Journal of Arid Environments 1990, 19:1-24.
51. Milich L., Weiss E. GAC NDVI images: Relationship to rainfall and potential evaporation in the grazing lands of The Gourma (northern Sahel) and in the croplands of the Niger-Nigeria border (southern Sahel). International Journal of Remote Sensing 2000, 21:261-280.
52. Nagol J.R., Vermote E.F., Prince S.D. Effects of atmospheric variation on AVHRR NDVI data. Remote Sensing of Environment 2009, 113:392-397.
53. Nicholson S.E. The nature of rainfall variability over Africa on time scales of decades to millenia. Global and Planetary Change 2000, 26:137-158.
54. Nicholson S.E., Davenport M.L., Malo A.R. A comparison of the vegetation response to rainfall in the Sahel and East-Africa, using normalized difference vegetation index from NOAA AVHRR. Climatic Change 1990, 17:209-241.
55. Olsson L., Eklundh L., Ardo J. A recent greening of the Sahel - Trends, patterns and potential causes. Journal of Arid Environments 2005, 63:556-566.
56. Paruelo J.M., Lauenroth W.K., Burke I.C., Sala O.E. Grassland precipitation-use efficiency varies across a resource gradient. Ecosystems 1999, 2:64-68.
57. Pinzon J.E., Brown M.E., Tucker C.J. Hilbert-Huang transform and its applications. Interdisciplinary mathematical sciences 2005, v. 5. World Scientific, Singapore; Hackensack, NJ; London, (pp. xii, 311 p.). N.E. Huang (Ed.).
58. Prince S.D. Satellite remote sensing of primary production: Comparison of results for Sahelian grasslands 1981-1988. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1991, 12:1301-1311.
59. Prince S.D., Becker-Reshef I., Rishmawi K. Detection and mapping of long-term land degradation using local net production scaling: Application to Zimbabwe. Remote Sensing of Environment 2009, 113:1046-1057.
60. Prince S.D., De Colstoun E.B., Kravitz L.L. Evidence from rain-use efficiencies does not indicate extensive Sahelian desertification. Global Change Biology 1998, 4:359-374.
61. Prince S.D., Justice C.O. Coarse resolution remote-sensing of the Sahelian environment - Editorial. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1991, 12:1137-1146.
62. Prince S.D., Wessels K.J., Tucker C.J., Nicholson S.E. Desertification in the Sahel: A reinterpretation of a reinterpretation. Global Change Biology 2007, 13:1308-1313.
63. Quarmby N.A., Milnes M., Hindle T.L., Silleos N. The use of multitemporal NDVI measurements from AVHRR data for crop yield estimation and prediction. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1993, 14:199-210.
64. Rasmussen M.S. Developing simple, operational, consistent NDVI-vegetation models by applying environmental and climatic information: Part I. Assessment of net primary production. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1998, 19:97-117.
65. Rasmussen K., Fog B., Madsen J.E. Desertification in reverse? Observations from northern Burkina Faso. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions 2001, 11:271-282.
66. Ridder N., Stroosnijder L., Cisse A.M., van Kelulen H. Productivity of Sahelian rangeland, a study of the soils, the vegetation and the exploitation of the natural resources. PPS Coursebook 1982, vol. 1. Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
67. Roy D.P., Ju J., Mbow C., Frost P., Loveland T. Accessing free Landsat data via the Internet: Africa's challenge. Remote Sensing Letters 2010, 1(2):111-117.
68. Ruimy A., Saugier B., Dedieu G. Methodology for the estimation of terrestrial net primary production from remotely sensed data. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 1994, 99:5263-5283.
69. Running S.W., Nemani R.R., Heinsch F.A., Zhao M.S., Reeves M., Hashimoto H. A continuous satellite-derived measure of global terrestrial primary production. Bioscience 2004, 54:547-560.
70. Sabbe H., Veroustrate F. Demonstration of a standard Net Primary Productivity product for the SPOT 4-VEGETATION instrument. VITO 2000.
71. Tucker C.J., Pinzon J.E., Brown M.E., Slayback D.A., Pak E.W., Mahoney R., et al. An extended AVHRR 8-km NDVI dataset compatible with MODIS and SPOT vegetation NDVI data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 2005, 26:4485-4498.
72. Tucker C.J., Vanpraet C., Boerwinkel E., Gaston A. Satellite remote-sensing of total dry-matter production in the Senegalese Sahel. Remote Sensing of Environment 1983, 13:461-474.
73. Vermote E.F., El Saleous N.Z., Justice C.O. Atmospheric correction of MODIS data in the visible to middle infrared: first results. Remote Sensing of Environment 2002, 83:97-111.
74. Vermote E., Kaufman Y.J. Absolute calibration of AVHRR visible and near-infrared channels using ocean and cloud views. International Journal of Remote Sensing 1995, 16:2317-2340.
75. Wessels K.J., Prince S.D., Malherbe J., Small J., Frost P.E., VanZyl D. Can human-induced land degradation be distinguished from the effects of rainfall variability? A case study in South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 2007, 68:271-297.
76. Williams C.A., Hanan N.P., Baker I., Collatz G.J., Berry J., Denning A.S. Interannual variability of photosynthesis across Africa and its attribution. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences 2008, 113.
77. Xie P.P., Arkin P.A. Global precipitation: A 17-year monthly analysis based on gauge observations, satellite estimates, and numerical model outputs. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1997, 78:2539-2558.