Analysing the vegetation cover variation of China from AVHRR‐NDVI data

Abstract

In this paper, the characteristics of vegetation cover and variation in China have been studied by using the AVHRR NDVI time‐series data from 1981 to 2001. The Harmonic Analysis of Time Series (HANTS) method was successfully applied to eliminate the clouds on remote sensing data and reconstruct cloud‐free time series images. Then, the Fourier components of NDVI time series data were calculated. Finally, the physical meaning of Fourier components was analysed, and the relationship between Fourier components and land vegetation cover variation was investigated. The mean NDVI, or zeroth‐order harmonic, indicates overall vegetation cover level. The first harmonics of the HANTS summarizes the amplitude and phase of annual values of NDVI data, and the second harmonics of the HANTS summarizes those of biannual values of NDVI data. The amplitude of the first harmonic indicates the variability of vegetation productivity over the year. The phase of the first harmonic summarizes the timing of vegetation green‐up, while the second harmonic indicates the strength and timing of biannual vegetation cover variation. The Fourier components calculated by HANTS algorithm reveal the vegetation distribution and growing cycle characteristics. The physical meaning of Fourier components are significant to the land‐surface vegetation variation study of China. The methodology proposed in this paper is an effective method for the processing, analysis and application of long‐time‐series remote sensing data.