Several investigations have shown the notable capability of meteorological satellites, particularly those of the NOAA series, for the large‐scale monitoring of terrestrial vegetation. The relevant indices, such as AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), were demonstrated to be highly correlated with total primary production, especially in subtropical regions, where the vegetation cover is generally not markedly variable. The present study aims at assessing the current possibilities for relating meteorological limiting factors to remotely sensed estimates of green biomass in these areas. Niger was chosen as the test site, and attention was focussed on the major limiting factor of this kind of climate, i.e. total rainfall. NDVI images of the rainy seasons of 3 years were reconstructed, and the relevant meteorological data collected in all available WMO stations were processed, together with agricultural production data derived from FAO archives. First results show that the method has good potential to allow ready and effective forecasting of drought and consequent famine conditions.
Influence of meteorological factors on primary production of Sahelian regions estimated by remote-sensing techniques / CONESE, C.*; MARACCHI, G.; MASELLI, F.; BINDI, M.. - In: BULLETIN OEPP. - ISSN 0250-8052. - STAMPA. - 21:(1991), pp. 643-649. [10.1111/j.1365-2338.1991.tb01298.x]
Influence of meteorological factors on primary production of Sahelian regions estimated by remote-sensing techniques
MARACCHI, G.;BINDI, M.
1991
Abstract
Several investigations have shown the notable capability of meteorological satellites, particularly those of the NOAA series, for the large‐scale monitoring of terrestrial vegetation. The relevant indices, such as AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), were demonstrated to be highly correlated with total primary production, especially in subtropical regions, where the vegetation cover is generally not markedly variable. The present study aims at assessing the current possibilities for relating meteorological limiting factors to remotely sensed estimates of green biomass in these areas. Niger was chosen as the test site, and attention was focussed on the major limiting factor of this kind of climate, i.e. total rainfall. NDVI images of the rainy seasons of 3 years were reconstructed, and the relevant meteorological data collected in all available WMO stations were processed, together with agricultural production data derived from FAO archives. First results show that the method has good potential to allow ready and effective forecasting of drought and consequent famine conditions.I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.