Remote sensing techniques have the potential to provide information about vegetation characteristics. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the ability of a hyperspectral field spectrometer along with a digital camera to estimate greenbug (Schizaphis graminum Rondani) damage to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in field condition. Percentage reflectance data and digital images were collect...

Global-scale quantification of relationships between plant traits gives insight into the evolution of the world's vegetation, and is crucial for parameterizing vegetation-climate models. A database was compiled, comprising data for hundreds to thousands of species for the core 'leaf economics' traits leaf lifespan, leaf mass per area, photosynthetic capacity, dark respiration, and leaf nitrogen...

[1] In this paper, we use growing season Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an indicator of plant growth to quantify the relationships between vegetation production and intra-annual precipitation patterns for three major temperate biomes in China: grassland, deciduous broadleaf forest, and deciduous coniferous forest. With increased precipitation, NDVI of grassland and deciduous b...

Global warming has greatly stimulated vegetation growth through both extending the growing season and promoting photosynthesis in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Analyzing the combined dynamics of such trends can potentially improve our current understanding on changes in vegetation functioning and the complex relationship between anthropogenic and climatic drivers. This study aims to analyze the...

The northwestern Great Basin lies in the transition zone between the mesic Pacific Northwest and xeric intermountain West. The paleoenvironmental history based on pollen, macroscopic charcoal, and plant macrofossils from three sites in the northwestern Great Basin was examined to understand the relationships among the modern vegetation, fire disturbance and climate. The vegetation history sugge...

Satellites have provided large-scale monitoring of vegetation for over three decades, and several satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) datasets have been produced. Here we intercompare four long-term NDVI datasets based largely on the AVHRR sensor (NDVIg, NDVI3g, STAR, VIP) and three datasets based on newer sensors (SPOT, Terra, Aqua) and evaluate the effectiveness of h...

Groundwater evapotranspiration (ETg) links various ecohydrological processes and is an important component in regional water budgets. In this study, an extensive monitoring network was established in a semiarid riparian area to investigate various controls on the spatiotemporal pattern of water table fluctuations (WTFs) and ETg induced by riparian vegetation. Along a vegetation gradient ( 1200 ...

Field measurements were conducted on 10 June through 21 July 2002 to collect biophysical data in support of MODIS validation studies. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Plant Area Index (PAI), Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), biomass, cover components, site characterization and soil characterization were measured. The study areas extended over an eco-climatic transect, from the cerrado...

The hypothesized presence of large regions of grass and forb-dominated "steppe tundra" across Alaska and Siberia during the Pleistocene glacial epochs has led to a search for modern analogs. Evidence is presented for the presence of steppe vegetation on south-facing slopes and summits of pingos within the central Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. Vegetation, floristics, soils, and climatic factor...