The Grass Is Not Always Greener on the Other Side: Seasonal Reversal of Vegetation Greenness in Aspect‐Driven Semiarid Ecosystems

Our current understanding of semiarid ecosystems is that they tend to display higher vegetation greenness on polar‐facing slopes (PFS) than on equatorial‐facing slopes (EFS). However, recent studies have argued that higher vegetation greenness can occur on EFS during part of the year. To assess whether this seasonal reversal of aspect‐driven vegetation is a common occurrence, we conducted a global‐scale analysis of vegetation greenness on a monthly time scale over an 18‐year period (2000–2017). We examined the influence of climate seasonality on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of PFS and EFS at 60 different catchments with aspect‐controlled vegetation located across all continents except Antarctica. Our results show that an overwhelming majority of sites (70%) display seasonal reversal, associated with transitions from water‐limited to energy‐limited conditions during wet winters. These findings highlight the need to consider seasonal variations of aspect‐driven vegetation patterns in ecohydrology, geomorphology, and Earth system models.

[1]  J. Kirchner,et al.  Unraveling the Mysteries of Asymmetric Topography at Gabilan Mesa, California , 2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.

[2]  Pablo Martín-Ortega,et al.  Temporal Patterns in Illumination Conditions and Its Effect on Vegetation Indices Using Landsat on Google Earth Engine , 2020, Remote. Sens..

[3]  E. Istanbulluoglu,et al.  Ecohydrology Controls the Geomorphic Response to Climate Change , 2019, Geophysical Research Letters.

[4]  P. Bolstad,et al.  Spatio-temporal transpiration patterns reflect vegetation structure in complex upland terrain. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[5]  S. H. Bullock,et al.  Precipitation and topography modulate vegetation greenness in the mountains of Baja California, México , 2019, International Journal of Biometeorology.

[6]  M. Herold,et al.  Does the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index explain spatial and temporal variability in sap velocity in temperate forest ecosystems? , 2019, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.

[7]  J. McDonnell,et al.  Hillslope Hydrology in Global Change Research and Earth System Modeling , 2019, Water Resources Research.

[8]  M. North,et al.  Extreme mid-winter drought weakens tree hydraulic-carbohydrate systems and slows growth. , 2018, The New phytologist.

[9]  T. Vanwalleghem,et al.  Controls on soil carbon storage from topography and vegetation in a rocky, semi-arid landscapes , 2018 .

[10]  J. Doe.  Partitioning of Evapotranspiration , 2018 .

[11]  Michael Dixon,et al.  Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone , 2017 .

[12]  N. Finnegan,et al.  Weak bedrock allows north-south elongation of channels in semi-arid landscapes , 2017 .

[13]  M. Roman,et al.  Overview of NASA's MODIS and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) snow-cover Earth System Data Records , 2017 .

[14]  C. Simmons,et al.  Response of leaf stable carbon isotope composition to temporal and spatial variabilities of aridity index on two opposite hillslopes in a native vegetated catchment , 2017 .

[15]  Stephen E. Fick,et al.  WorldClim 2: new 1‐km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas , 2017 .

[16]  J. Touza,et al.  Interacting effects of topography, vegetation, human activities and wildland-urban interfaces on wildfire ignition risk , 2017 .

[17]  J. Pelletier,et al.  Asymmetry of weathering‐limited hillslopes: the importance of diurnal covariation in solar insolation and temperature , 2017 .

[18]  D. Baldocchi,et al.  Using data from Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS and PhenoCams to monitor the phenology of California oak/grass savanna and open grassland across spatial scales , 2017 .

[19]  P. Nyman,et al.  Hillslope-scale prediction of terrain and forest canopy effects on temperature and near-surface soil moisture deficit , 2017 .

[20]  Francisco José Del Toro Guerrero,et al.  A Comparative Study of NDVI Values Between North- and South-Facing Slopes in a Semiarid Mountainous Region , 2016, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing.

[21]  B. Ostendorf,et al.  Site-based and remote sensing methods for monitoring indicators of vegetation condition: An Australian review , 2016 .

[22]  Carlos Alberto Mastachi-Loza,et al.  Assessing desertification risk in the semi-arid highlands of central Mexico , 2015 .

[23]  Enrique R. Vivoni,et al.  Ecohydrologic role of solar radiation on landscape evolution , 2015 .

[24]  Yuan Jiang,et al.  Topography- and Species-Dependent Climatic Responses in Radial Growth of Picea meyeri and Larix principis-rupprechtii in the Luyashan Mountains of North-Central China , 2015 .

[25]  Malcolm K. Hughes,et al.  Changing climate response in near-treeline bristlecone pine with elevation and aspect , 2014 .

[26]  Eder Paulo Moreira,et al.  Application and evaluation of topographic correction methods to improve land cover mapping using object-based classification , 2014, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinformation.

[27]  J. Pelletier,et al.  Development of topographic asymmetry: Insights from dated cinder cones in the western United States , 2014 .

[28]  Inge Sandholt,et al.  Accuracy of the Temperature-Vegetation Dryness Index using MODIS under water-limited vs. energy-limited evapotranspiration conditions , 2014 .

[29]  E. Vivoni,et al.  A geomorphic perspective on terrain‐modulated organization of vegetation productivity: analysis in two semiarid grassland ecosystems in Southwestern United States , 2014 .

[30]  S. P. Anderson,et al.  HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES Hydrol. Process. (2012) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/hyp.9549 Aspect control of water movement on hillslopes near the rain– snow transition of the Colorado Front Range , 2022 .

[31]  E. Vivoni,et al.  On the observed ecohydrologic dynamics of a semiarid basin with aspect‐delimited ecosystems , 2013 .

[32]  Hongyan Liu,et al.  Global patterns of NDVI-indicated vegetation extremes and their sensitivity to climate extremes , 2013 .

[33]  David J. Tongway,et al.  Variations in hydrological connectivity of Australian semiarid landscapes indicate abrupt changes in rainfall‐use efficiency of vegetation , 2012 .

[34]  J. McNamara,et al.  Aspect influences on soil water retention and storage , 2011 .

[35]  Thomas H. Painter,et al.  Assessment of methods for mapping snow cover from MODIS , 2011 .

[36]  A. Flores,et al.  A simplified approach for estimating soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in semi-arid complex terrain , 2011 .

[37]  Enrique R. Vivoni,et al.  The implications of geology, soils, and vegetation on landscape morphology: Inferences from semi-arid basins with complex vegetation patterns in Central New Mexico, USA , 2010 .

[38]  M. Schaepman,et al.  Quantification of spatial distribution of vegetation in the Qilian Mountain area with MODIS NDVI , 2009 .

[39]  Roberta E. Martin,et al.  Airborne spectranomics: mapping canopy chemical and taxonomic diversity in tropical forests , 2009 .

[40]  M. S. Moran,et al.  Partitioning evapotranspiration in semiarid grassland and shrubland ecosystems using time series of soil surface temperature , 2009 .

[41]  Antonio Trabucco,et al.  Climate change mitigation: a spatial analysis of global land suitability for Clean Development Mechanism afforestation and reforestation , 2008 .

[42]  Enrique R. Vivoni,et al.  Vegetation‐hydrology dynamics in complex terrain of semiarid areas: 2. Energy‐water controls of vegetation spatiotemporal dynamics and topographic niches of favorability , 2008 .

[43]  S. Priest,et al.  Geologic Map of the Fredonia 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Mohave and Coconino Counties, Northern Arizona , 2008 .

[44]  D. Breshears,et al.  Effects of topography and woody plant canopy cover on near‐ground solar radiation: Relevant energy inputs for ecohydrology and hydropedology , 2007 .

[45]  Bunkei Matsushita,et al.  Sensitivity of the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to Topographic Effects: A Case Study in High-Density Cypress Forest , 2007, Sensors.

[46]  E. Vivoni,et al.  Ecohydrology of root zone water fluxes and soil development in complex semiarid rangelands , 2006 .

[47]  Alfredo Huete,et al.  A 20-year study of NDVI variability over the Northeast Region of Brazil , 2006 .

[48]  Jeremy F. Wallace,et al.  Vegetation condition assessment and monitoring from sequences of satellite imagery , 2006 .

[49]  S. Running,et al.  Impacts of climate change on natural forest productivity – evidence since the middle of the 20th century , 2006 .

[50]  N. Pettorelli,et al.  Using the satellite-derived NDVI to assess ecological responses to environmental change. , 2005, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[51]  Craig A. Coburn,et al.  SCS+C: a modified Sun-canopy-sensor topographic correction in forested terrain , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[52]  Marco A. Molina-Montenegro,et al.  Slope aspect influences plant association patterns in the Mediterranean matorral of central Chile , 2005 .

[53]  M. Broza,et al.  Soil collembolan communities on north- and south-facing slopes of an eastern Mediterranean valley , 2004 .

[54]  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 .

[55]  Kelly K. Caylor,et al.  Feasible optimality of vegetation patterns in river basins , 2004 .

[56]  Yolanda Cantón,et al.  Temporal and spatial patterns of soil moisture in semiarid badlands of SE Spain , 2004 .

[57]  A. Huete,et al.  Overview of the radiometric and biophysical performance of the MODIS vegetation indices , 2002 .

[58]  Ranga B. Myneni,et al.  Analysis of interannual changes in northern vegetation activity observed in AVHRR data from 1981 to 1994 , 2002, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[59]  Thomas A. Hennig,et al.  The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission , 2001, Digital Earth Moving.

[60]  Maxim Shoshany,et al.  Influence of slope aspect on Mediterranean woody formations: Comparison of a semiarid and an arid site in Israel , 2001, Ecological Research.

[61]  H. Nagendra.  Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity , 2001 .

[62]  David A. Seal,et al.  The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission , 2007 .

[63]  A. Klein,et al.  Improving snow cover mapping in forests through the use of a canopy reflectance model , 1998 .

[64]  P. Nobel,et al.  Frequencies, Microclimate and Root Properties for Three Codominant Perennials in the Northwestern Sonoran Desert on North-vs.South-facing Slopes , 1997 .

[65]  Eviatar Nevo,et al.  Asian, African and European biota meet at ‘Evolution Canyon’ Israel: local tests of global biodiversity and genetic diversity patterns , 1995, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[66]  Gradients in field‐layer vegetation on an arid misty mountain plateau in the Sudan , 1992 .

[67]  B. Wienhold,et al.  Aspect and species influences on nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in Arizona chaparral soil‐plant systems , 1992 .

[68]  J. Dozier.  Spectral Signature of Alpine Snow Cover from the Landsat Thematic Mapper , 1989 .

[69]  F. Branson,et al.  Contrasts of vegetation, soils, microclimates, and geomorphic processes between north- and south-facing slopes on Green Mountain near Denver, Colorado , 1989 .

[70]  P. Teillet,et al.  On the Slope-Aspect Correction of Multispectral Scanner Data , 1982 .

[71]  R. Churchill.  ASPECT‐RELATED DIFFERENCES IN BADLANDS SLOPE MORPHOLOGY* , 1981, Annals of the Association of American Geographers.

[72]  C. Justice,et al.  Application of digital terrain data to quantify and reduce the topographic effect on Landsat data , 1981 .

[73]  C. Justice,et al.  The topographic effect on spectral response from nadir-pointing sensors , 1980 .

[74]  Jamie B. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Vegetation-radiation relationships in mountainous terrain: eucalypt-dominated vegetation in the Risdon Hills, Tasmania , 1980 .

[75]  J. Armesto,et al.  Relations Between Vegetation Structure and Slope Aspect in the Mediterranean Region of Chile , 1978 .

[76]  D. Parsons.  Vegetation Structure in the Mediterranean Scrub Communities of California and Chile , 1976 .

[77]  J. A. Schell,et al.  Monitoring the Vernal Advancement and Retrogradation (Green Wave Effect) of Natural Vegetation. [Great Plains Corridor] , 1973 .