Monitoring phenology variations of different forest types from 2000 to 2008 in contiguous United States using MODIS LAI measurements

Abstract

The strong relationships between vegetation phenology and global climate change have been found in recent years, especially with increasing popularity and availability of satellite data. Accurate estimates of canopy phenology are critical to quantify carbon and water exchange between forests and the atmosphere and its response to climate change. The objective of this study is to detect the spatial distribution of vegetation phenology with remote sensing and to quantitatively examine the linkage between forest phenology and forest type in contiguous United States. In particular, we focus on phenology variation between different forest types. To achieve this goal, we utilize LAI measurements from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from 2000 to 2007 to identify phenological transition dates. The transition dates are then related to MODIS land cover type product to assess land cover type dependent phonological variation during 8 years. The results show that both evergreen forests and deciduous forests have an annual cycle of vegetation phenology. Greenup onset days vary diversely among different forest types. The phenology variation range of deciduous needle leaf forests is larger than that of deciduous broadleaf forests. Compared to greenup days, dormancy days have a little difference between different forest types. Grow length of different land cover varies obviously during 8 years.