The Novel Microwave Temperature Vegetation Drought Index (MTVDI) Captures Canopy Seasonality across Amazonian Tropical Evergreen Forests

The phenology of leaf quality and its within-canopy variation is essential for accurate modeling of photosynthesis in tropical evergreen forests.

Leaf quantity (i.e., canopy leaf area index, LAI), quality (i.e., per-area photosynthetic capacity), and longevity all influence the photosynthetic seasonality of tropical evergreen forests. However, these components of tropical leaf phenology are poorly represented in most terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). Here, we explored alternative options for the representation of leaf phenology effect...

Persistent effects of a severe drought on Amazonian forest canopy.

Recent Amazonian droughts have drawn attention to the vulnerability of tropical forests to climate perturbations. Satellite and in situ observations have shown an increase in fire occurrence during drought years and tree mortality following severe droughts, but to date there has been no assessment of long-term impacts of these droughts across landscapes in Amazonia. Here, we use satellite micro...

MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index data do not show greening of Amazon forests during the 2005 drought.

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Drought-mortality relationships for tropical forests.

*The rich ecology of tropical forests is intimately tied to their moisture status. Multi-site syntheses can provide a macro-scale view of these linkages and their susceptibility to changing climates. Here, we report pan-tropical and regional-scale analyses of tree vulnerability to drought. *We assembled available data on tropical forest tree stem mortality before, during, and after recent droug...

Humus forms in two secondary semi-evergreen tropical forests