Vegetation monitoring for climate studies

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Vegetation monitoring for climate studies

• Mat Disney
• Birkbeck School of Geography
• (notes adapted from Dr. P. Lewis, UCL Geography)

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Vegetation parameters of interest in Climate
Modelling 

• Principally, those that affect transfers of
• energy
• components of greenhouse gases
• influences on mankind

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Vegetation parameters of interest in Climate
Modelling 

• energy
• shortwave radiation
• longwave radiation
• momentum transfer

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Vegetation parameters of interest in Climate
Modelling 

• components of greenhouse gases
• CO2 - carbon cycling
• photosynthesis, biomass burning
• H20 - evapo-transpiration
• (erosion of soil resources, wind/water)

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Vegetation parameters of interest in Climate
Modelling 

• also, influences on mankind
• crops, fuel
• ecosystems (biodiversity, natural habitats) soil
  erosion and hydrology, micro and meso-scale
  climate

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Appropriate scales for monitoring

• spatial
• global land surface 150 x 106 km
• 1km data sets 150 x 106 pixels
• GCM can currently deal with 0.25o grids
• temporal
• depends on dynamics
• 1 month sampling required e.g. for crops

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parameters of interest

• vegetation type (classification) (various)
• vegetation amount (various)
• primary production (C-fixation, food)
• SW absorption (various)
• temperature (growth limitation, water)
• structure/height (radiation interception,
  roughness - momentum transfer)

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explicitly deal here with

• LAI/fAPAR
• Leaf Area Index/fraction Absorbed
  Photsynthetically active radiation (vis.)
• But other important parameters include
• albedo
• ratio of outgoing/incoming
• PSN/NPP
• PSN - daily net photosynthesis
• NPP - Net primary productivity - ratio of Carbon
  uptake to that produced via transpiration. NPP
  annual sum of daily PSN.

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Appropriate RS instruments

• optical data _at_ 1 km
• AVHRR
• long-term dataset
• poor calibration/broad wavebands
• not designed for task
• repeat multi-angular

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AVHRR
Spectral Range Band Satellites
Satellites IFOV NOAA-6,8,10
NOAA-7,9,11,12,14 1 0.58 - 0.68 0.58
- 0.68 1.39 2 0.725 - 1.10 0.725 -
1.10 1.41 3 3.55 - 3.93 3.55 -
3.93 1.51 4 10.50 - 11.50 10.3 -
11.3 1.41 5 band 4 repeated 11.5 -
12.5 1.30 (?m)
(?m) (millirads.)
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• optical data _at_ 1 km
• EOS MISR
• multi-view angle (9)
• 275m-1 km
• VIS/NIR only

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• optical data _at_ 1 km
• EOS MODIS
• 250m-1km
• fuller coverage of spectrum
• repeat multi-angular

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• optical data _at_ 1 km
• ENVISAT MERIS
• 1 km
• good spectral sampling VIS/NIR - 15 programmable
  bands between 390nm an 1040nm.
• little multi-angular

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future 

• production of datasets (e.g. EOSDIS)
• e.g. MODIS products
• cost of large projects (big science') high
• B7 EOS
• little direct commercial' value at moderate
  resolution
• data aimed at scientists ... policy    

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future 

• NASA ESA - shorter timeframe for development -
  smaller, faster, cheaper
• can respond more quickly
• scientific requirement
• technology changes
• involve scientists more (e.g. VCL)
• cost less 

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