Geography

Modelling dry season deciduousness in Mexican Yucatán forest using MODIS EVI data (2000-2011)

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study maps interannual variation in the spatial extent of deciduousness in the dry tropical forests of the southern Yucatán (Mexico) from 2000 to 2011 using seasonal variability thresholds based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data and relates deciduousness to precipitation-and temperature-derived climate variables using linear regressions. The annual occurrence of deciduousness is most frequently observed in forests located in a regional rain shadow at moderate elevations. Regression results suggest that deciduousness is more strongly associated with atypically hot conditions (-2°C; R 2 = 0.44) than with atypically dry conditions (R 2 = 0.19), in contrast to other phenological processes (e.g. leaf growth, peak productivity) driven primarily by precipitation. © 2013 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Publication Title

GIScience and Remote Sensing

Publication Date

2013

Volume

50

Issue

1

First Page

26

Last Page

49

ISSN

1548-1603

DOI

10.1080/15481603.2013.778559

Keywords

deciduousness, MODIS, phenology

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