| Title | Early spatial and temporal validation of MODIS LAI product in the Southern Africa Kalahari |
| |
| Author | Privette, J L; Myneni, R B; Knyazikhin, Y; Mukelabai, M; Roberts, G; Tian, Y; Wang, Y; Leblanc, S G |
| Source | Remote Sensing of Environment vol. 83, no. 1-2, 2002 p. 232-243, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0034-4257(02)00075-5  Open Access |
| Year | 2002 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20043217 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Abstract | We evaluate the operational MODIS Leaf Area Index (LAI) product using field-sampled data collected at five sites in southern Africa in March 2000. One site (Mongu, Zambia) was sampled monthly throughout
the year. All sites were along the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme's (IGBP) Kalahari Transect, which features progressively lower annual precipitation, and hence, lower vegetation productivity, from north to south. The soils are
consistently sandy. At each site, we sampled the vegetation overstory along three 750-m transects using the Tracing Radiation and Architecture in Canopies (TRAC) instrument. The resulting plant area index values were adjusted with ancillary stem area
data to estimate LAI. Despite some instrument characterization and production issues in the first year of MODIS operations, our results suggest the first-year MODIS LAI algorithm correctly accommodates structural and phenological variability in
semiarid woodlands and savannas, and is accurate to within the uncertainty of the validation approach used here. Limitations of this study and its conclusions are also discussed. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 220019 |
|
|