Abstract
ABSTRACT In this article, we explore the soil water effect on vegetation growth in west-central Africa using remotely sensed near-surface soil moisture content (nSMC), terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA), and leaf area index (LAI). TWSA is the only data to reflect deeper soil water used by perennial plants with their deep root systems, which microwave sensors cannot observe. However, deep groundwater complicates investigating the water availability of plants using TWSA. We confirmed that the TWSA’s slope during the dry season, which might be caused by vegetation transpiration, was steeper towards equatorial regions. Our results show that the relationship between LAI and the TWSA’s inclination during the dry season was negatively correlated in areas where the LAI was below 2 and the precipitation was less than 40 mm/month. This finding might enable us to investigate the water availability of perennial plants by focusing on the TWSA’s slope during the dry season.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
