A new estimate of tundra-biome phytomass from trans-Arctic field data and AVHRR NDVI |
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| Authors: | Martha K. Raynolds Donald A. Walker Howard E. Epstein Jorge E. Pinzon Compton J. Tucker |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska , Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA mkraynolds@alaska.edu;3. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska , Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA;4. Department of Environmental Sciences , University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA;5. Biospheric Science Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA |
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| Abstract: | It is often assumed that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can be equated to aboveground plant biomass, but such a relationship has never been quantified at a global biome scale. We sampled aboveground plant biomass (phytomass) at representative zonal sites along two trans-Arctic transects, one in North America and one in Eurasia, and compared these data to satellite-derived NDVI. The results showed a remarkably strong correlation between total aboveground phytomass sampled at the peak of summer and the maximum annual NDVI (R 2?=?0.94, p < 0.001). The relationship was almost identical for the North America and Eurasia transects. The NDVI–phytomass relationship was used to make an aboveground phytomass map of the tundra biome. The approach uses a new and more accurate NDVI data set for the Arctic (GIMMS3g) and a sampling protocol that employs consistent methods for site selection, clip harvest and sorting and weighing of plant material. Extrapolation of the results to zonal landscape-level phytomass estimates provides valuable data for monitoring and modelling tundra vegetation. |
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