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Characterising the land surface phenology of Europe using decadal MERIS data

Characterising the land surface phenology of Europe using decadal MERIS data
Characterising the land surface phenology of Europe using decadal MERIS data
Land surface phenology (LSP), the study of the timing of recurring cycles of changes in the land surface using time-series of satellite sensor-derived vegetation indices, is a valuable tool for monitoring vegetation at global and continental scales. Characterisation of LSP and its spatial variation is required to reveal and predict ongoing changes in Earth system dynamics. This study presents and analyses the LSP of the pan-European continent for the last decade, considering three phenological metrics: onset of greenness (OG), end of senescence (EOS), and length of season (LS). The whole time-series of Multi-temporal Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) data at 1 km spatial resolution was used to estimate the phenological metrics. Results show a progressive pattern in phenophases from low to high latitudes. OG dates are distributed widely from the end of December to the end of May. EOS dates range from the end of May to the end of January and the spatial distribution is generally the inverse of that of the OG. Shorter growing seasons (approximately three months) are associated with rainfed croplands in Western Europe, and forests in boreal and mountainous areas. Maximum LS values appear in the Atlantic basin associated with grasslands. The LSP maps presented in this study are supported by the findings of a previous study where OG and EOS estimates were compared to those of the pan-European phenological network at certain locations corresponding to numerous observations of deciduous tree plant species. Moreover, the spatio-temporal pattern of the OG and EOS produced close agreement with the dates of deciduous tree leaf unfolding and autumnal colouring, respectively (pseudo R-squared equal to 0.70 and 0.71 and root mean square error of six days (over 365 days)).
land surface phenology, MTCI, biogeographical regions, land covers, spring, autumn
2072-4292
9390-9409
Rodriguez-galiano, Victor
be6ea36a-6613-41ba-a4da-9e7b565d8d0d
Dash, J.
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
Atkinson, Peter
96e96579-56fe-424d-a21c-17b6eed13b0b
Rodriguez-galiano, Victor
be6ea36a-6613-41ba-a4da-9e7b565d8d0d
Dash, J.
51468afb-3d56-4d3a-aace-736b63e9fac8
Atkinson, Peter
96e96579-56fe-424d-a21c-17b6eed13b0b

Rodriguez-galiano, Victor, Dash, J. and Atkinson, Peter (2015) Characterising the land surface phenology of Europe using decadal MERIS data. Remote Sensing, 7 (7), 9390-9409. (doi:10.3390/rs70709390).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Land surface phenology (LSP), the study of the timing of recurring cycles of changes in the land surface using time-series of satellite sensor-derived vegetation indices, is a valuable tool for monitoring vegetation at global and continental scales. Characterisation of LSP and its spatial variation is required to reveal and predict ongoing changes in Earth system dynamics. This study presents and analyses the LSP of the pan-European continent for the last decade, considering three phenological metrics: onset of greenness (OG), end of senescence (EOS), and length of season (LS). The whole time-series of Multi-temporal Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) data at 1 km spatial resolution was used to estimate the phenological metrics. Results show a progressive pattern in phenophases from low to high latitudes. OG dates are distributed widely from the end of December to the end of May. EOS dates range from the end of May to the end of January and the spatial distribution is generally the inverse of that of the OG. Shorter growing seasons (approximately three months) are associated with rainfed croplands in Western Europe, and forests in boreal and mountainous areas. Maximum LS values appear in the Atlantic basin associated with grasslands. The LSP maps presented in this study are supported by the findings of a previous study where OG and EOS estimates were compared to those of the pan-European phenological network at certain locations corresponding to numerous observations of deciduous tree plant species. Moreover, the spatio-temporal pattern of the OG and EOS produced close agreement with the dates of deciduous tree leaf unfolding and autumnal colouring, respectively (pseudo R-squared equal to 0.70 and 0.71 and root mean square error of six days (over 365 days)).

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Accepted/In Press date: 15 July 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 July 2015
Keywords: land surface phenology, MTCI, biogeographical regions, land covers, spring, autumn
Organisations: Global Env Change & Earth Observation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 383423
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/383423
ISSN: 2072-4292
PURE UUID: 20b1b471-2477-469e-a48b-5f444eac6788
ORCID for J. Dash: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5444-2109
ORCID for Peter Atkinson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5489-6880

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Date deposited: 11 Nov 2015 14:55
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:17

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Contributors

Author: Victor Rodriguez-galiano
Author: J. Dash ORCID iD
Author: Peter Atkinson ORCID iD

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