The Browning of Alaska's Boreal Forest

We used twelve Landsat scenes from the 1980s–2009 and regional 2000–2009 MODIS data to examine the long-term trend in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within unburned areas of the Alaskan boreal forest. Our analysis shows that there has been a declining trend in NDVI in this region, with the strongest “browning trend” occurring in eastern Alaska where the climate during the growing season is relatively dry and warm. Possible reasons for the "browning trend" are decreased vegetation due to temperature-induced drought stress and increased infestations of insect pests.

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