How does the global Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) product relate to regionally developed land cover and vegetation products in a semi-arid Australian savanna?

Spatio-temporally variable information on total vegetation cover is highly relevant to water quality and land management in river catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A time series of the global Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR; 2000-2006) and its underlying biome classification (MOD12Q1) were compared to national land cover and regional, remotely sensed products in the dry-tropical Burdekin River. The MOD12Q1 showed reasonable agreement with a classification of major vegetation groups for 94% of the study area. We then compared dry-seasonal, quality controlled MODIS FPAR observations to (i) Landsat-based woody foliage projective cover (wFPC) (2004) and (ii) MODIS bare ground index (BGI) observations (2001-2003). Statistical analysis of the MODIS FPAR revealed a significant sensitivity to Landsat wFPC-based Vegetation Structural Categories (VSC) and VSC-specific temporal variability over the 2004 dry season. The MODIS FPAR relation to 20 coinciding MODIS BGI dry-seasonal observations was significant (ρ < 0.001) for homogeneous areas of low wFPC. Our results show that the global MODIS FPAR can be used to identify VSC, represent VSC-specific variability of PAR absorption, and indicate that the amount, structure, and optical properties of green and non-green vegetation components contribute to the MODIS FPAR signal.

[1]  R. Houborg,et al.  Combining vegetation index and model inversion methods for the extraction of key vegetation biophysical parameters using Terra and Aqua MODIS reflectance data , 2007 .

[2]  J. Privette,et al.  Impact of Tissue, Canopy, and Landscape Factors on the Hyperspectral Reflectance Variability of Arid Ecosystems , 2000 .

[3]  Gregory S. Okin,et al.  Relative spectral mixture analysis — A multitemporal index of total vegetation cover , 2005 .

[4]  Hervé Sinoquet,et al.  Radiation absorption and use by humid savanna grassland: assessment using remote sensing and modelling , 1997 .

[5]  Lars Eklundh,et al.  Estimation of absorbed PAR across Scandinavia from satellite measurements. Part II: Modeling and evaluating the fractional absorption , 2007 .

[6]  Gregory P. Asner,et al.  SCALE DEPENDENCE OF ABSORPTION OF PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS , 1998 .

[7]  I. Prosser,et al.  Regional Patterns of Erosion and Sediment Transport in the Burdekin River Catchment , 2002 .

[8]  F. Baret,et al.  Estimating light absorption by chlorophyll, leaf and canopy in a deciduous broadleaf forest using MODIS data and a radiative transfer model , 2005 .

[9]  R. Jackson,et al.  Suitability of spectral indices for evaluating vegetation characteristics on arid rangelands , 1987 .

[10]  R. Dickinson,et al.  Comparison of seasonal and spatial variations of leaf area index and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Common Land Model , 2004 .

[11]  R. Fensholt,et al.  Evaluation of satellite based primary production modelling in the semi-arid Sahel , 2006 .

[12]  N. T. Hobbs,et al.  Fragmentation in semi-arid and arid landscapes: consequences for human and natural systems , 2008 .

[13]  Tim R. McVicar,et al.  Assessment of the MODIS LAI product for Australian ecosystems , 2006 .

[14]  D. Barrett,et al.  Estimating fractional cover of photosynthetic vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil in the Australian tropical savanna region upscaling the EO-1 Hyperion and MODIS sensors. , 2009 .

[15]  Valerie A. Thomas,et al.  Spatial modelling of the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by a boreal mixedwood forest using a lidar–hyperspectral approach , 2006 .

[16]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Biodiversity in Ecosystem Management , 2004 .

[17]  Daniel Steinberg,et al.  Assessment and extension of the MODIS FPAR products in temperate forests of the eastern United States , 2009 .

[18]  R. Pech,et al.  The assessment and monitoring of sparsely vegetated rangelands using calibrated Landsat data , 1988 .

[19]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  Time‐series validation of MODIS land biophysical products in a Kalahari woodland, Africa , 2005 .

[20]  R. Fensholt,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS LAI, fAPAR and the relation between fAPAR and NDVI in a semi-arid environment using in situ measurements , 2004 .

[21]  D. Barrett,et al.  Prospects for improving savanna biophysical models by using multiple-constraints model-data assimilation methods , 2005 .

[22]  S. Goward,et al.  Vegetation canopy PAR absorptance and NDVI: An assessment for ten tree species with the SAIL model , 1997 .

[23]  R. Fensham,et al.  Leichhardt’s maps: 100 years of change in vegetation structure in inland Queensland , 2007 .

[24]  S. Running,et al.  MODIS Leaf Area Index (LAI) And Fraction Of Photosynthetically Active Radiation Absorbed By Vegetation (FPAR) Product , 1999 .

[25]  R. Dickinson,et al.  Stochastic radiative transfer model for mixture of discontinuous vegetation canopies , 2007 .

[26]  Jingfeng Huang,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS surface reflectance products for wheat leaf area index (LAI) retrieval , 2008 .

[27]  M. Raupach,et al.  Decomposition of vegetation cover into woody and herbaceous components using AVHRR NDVI time series , 2003 .

[28]  Fredrik Lagergren,et al.  Estimating net primary production for Scandinavian forests using data from Terra/MODIS , 2007 .

[29]  Alfredo Huete,et al.  Effects of standing litter on the biophysical interpretation of plant canopies with spectral indices , 1996 .

[30]  Robert N. Colwell,et al.  Manual of remote sensing , 1983 .

[31]  Philip Gibbons,et al.  Australian Plant Communities. Dynamics of Structure, Growth and Biodiversity , 2004 .

[32]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  Analysis of leaf area index and fraction of PAR absorbed by vegetation products from the terra MODIS sensor: 2000-2005 , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[33]  J. Randerson,et al.  Global net primary production: Combining ecology and remote sensing , 1995 .

[34]  N. Gobron,et al.  Monitoring the photosynthetic activity of vegetation from remote sensing data , 2006 .

[35]  S. Running,et al.  Global products of vegetation leaf area and fraction absorbed PAR from year one of MODIS data , 2002 .

[36]  R. Hassett,et al.  Guidelines for determining lease land condition - Queensland's Delbessie Agreement (State Rural Leasehold Land Strategy) , 2010 .

[37]  G. Asner,et al.  Scaling PAR absorption from the leaf to landscape level in spatially heterogeneous ecosystems , 1997 .

[38]  Rasmus Fensholt,et al.  MODIS leaf area index products: from validation to algorithm improvement , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[39]  Compton J. Tucker,et al.  Satellite remote sensing of total herbaceous biomass production in the Senegalese Sahel - 1980-1984 , 1985 .

[40]  Malcolm McCulloch,et al.  Coral record of increased sediment flux to the inner Great Barrier Reef since European settlement , 2003, Nature.

[41]  Y. Knyazikhin,et al.  Effect of foliage spatial heterogeneity in the MODIS LAI and FPAR algorithm over broadleaf forests , 2003 .

[42]  Roberta E. Martin,et al.  GRAZING SYSTEMS, ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES, AND GLOBAL CHANGE , 2004 .

[43]  K. Huemmrich.  The GeoSail model: a simple addition to the SAIL model to describe discontinuous canopy reflectance , 2001 .

[44]  H. Balzter,et al.  Studying the change in fAPAR after forest fires in Siberia using MODIS , 2008 .

[45]  Danny Lo Seen,et al.  PAR extinction in shortgrass ecosystems: effects of clumping, sky conditions and soil albedo , 2000 .

[46]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  User's Guide FPAR, LAI (ESDT: MOD15A2) 8-day Composite NASA MODIS Land Algorithm , 2003 .

[47]  G. M. Lodge,et al.  Ground cover in temperate native perennial grass pastures. II. Relationship with herbage and litter mass , 2002 .

[48]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  Monitoring spring canopy phenology of a deciduous broadleaf forest using MODIS , 2006 .

[49]  Rasmus Fensholt,et al.  Earth observation of vegetation status in the Sahelian and Sudanian West Africa: comparison of Terra MODIS and NOAA AVHRR satellite data , 2004 .

[50]  James E. McMurtrey,et al.  Assessing crop residue cover using shortwave infrared reflectance , 2004 .

[51]  Stuart R. Phinn,et al.  Estimates of bare ground and vegetation cover from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) short-wave-infrared reflectance imagery , 2008 .

[52]  Peter Scarth,et al.  Prediction and validation of foliage projective cover from Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery , 2009 .

[53]  Stuart R. Phinn,et al.  Estimating tree‐cover change in Australia: challenges of using the MODIS vegetation index product , 2009 .

[54]  John A. Ludwig,et al.  Runoff and erosion from Australia's tropical semi‐arid rangelands: influence of ground cover for differing space and time scales , 2006 .

[55]  B. Choudhury,et al.  Spatial heterogeneity in vegetation canopies and remote sensing of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation: A modeling study , 1992 .

[56]  J. Townshend,et al.  Global land cover classi(cid:142) cation at 1 km spatial resolution using a classi(cid:142) cation tree approach , 2004 .

[57]  R. Nemani,et al.  Assessment of the Broadleaf Crops Leaf Area Index Product from the Terra MODIS Instrument , 2005 .

[58]  Scott J. Goetz,et al.  Products in Boreal Forests of Alaska , 2006 .

[59]  José J. San José,et al.  Productivity and carbon fluxes of tropical savannas , 2006 .

[60]  P. Sellers.  Remote sensing of the land surface for studies of global change , 1993 .

[61]  S. Ustin.  Remote sensing for natural resource management and environmental monitoring , 2004 .

[62]  D. Diner,et al.  Estimation of vegetation canopy leaf area index and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation from atmosphere‐corrected MISR data , 1998 .

[63]  W. Cohen,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS NPP and GPP products across multiple biomes. , 2006 .

[64]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  Estimation of global leaf area index and absorbed par using radiative transfer models , 1997, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[65]  Xiangming Xiao,et al.  Characterization of seasonal variation of forest canopy in a temperate deciduous broadleaf forest, using daily MODIS data , 2006 .