Resilience of vegetation to drought: Studying the effect of grazing in a Mediterranean rangeland using satellite time series

Understanding how resilient rangelands are to climatic disturbances such as drought is of major importance land managers. The resilience ecosystems can be reduced by livestock grazing and environmental conditions. Most studies quantifying based on model simulations. However, natural time series from satellite data offer the possibility infer aspects real systems. objective this study was investigate two ecological resilience, namely resistance climate variability recovery drought, applying a change detection method (Breaks For Additive Seasonal Trend; BFAST) spatially 28-year Landsat NDVI in dry rangeland southern Cyprus. First, we used number breakpoints fitted BFAST an inverted proxy for long-term vegetation (the ability withstand during disturbance reduces likelihood trigger breakpoint series). Second, linear slope after known rate vegetation. This information then analyse spatial distribution total trend relation properties. Our results show that high northern orientation (i.e. favourable conditions) were associated with highly system, due fast drought. Intermediate conditions low resistance. Unfavourable intensities unresponsive ecosystem state characterised slow event. Low positively affected trend, but did not improve On slopes, terrain had positive effect while slopes it negative effect. satellite-driven approach has strong potential monitoring, because applied broad temporal scales areas availability field data. Moreover, allows jointly extract important components resilience: rate.