E a r t h O b s e r v a t i o n H e l p d e s k S T E R E O 1 P r o g r a m m e P r o j e c t s G L O V E G + G E O S U C C E S S

G L O B A L V E G E T A T I O N G L O V E G + G E O S U C C E S S

Caring for the planet’s welfareHumanactivitiesareincreasinglyinfluencingthedynamicsofterrestrialecosystemsandcausingdramaticchangesinlandcoveranduse.Thishasfar-reachingconsequencesforbio-diversity,climateandfoodproductionworldwide.ItwastobetteridentifytheseproblemswithaviewtopromotingahealthierandmoresecureplanetthatGMESwassetup.GMESstandsfor“GlobalMonitoringforEnvironmentandSecu-rity”andisajointinitiativeofESA(EuropeanSpaceAgency)andtheEuropeanCommission.Itaimstocollectcontinuousdataonourchangingplanetforprocessingintoinformationthatcanbereadilyusedbypolicybodiesandotherusers.Tothisend,lowresolutionEarthobser-vationsatellitestakedailyreadingsoftheentireEarth’ssurface,therebyprovidinganimpor-tantsourceofinformation.However,tobesurethattheinformationfurnishedisreliable,abetterunderstandingoftheprocessesatworkintheterrestrialecosystemsisessential.

Mapping global changes in land coverThreeBelgianresearchorganizationspooledtheircomplementaryexpertisewithinaconsor-tiumtocarryoutanin-depthstudyofdynamicterrestrialecosystemswiththeaidofEarthobservation.ThisresearchaimedtohelpdefineproductsandservicesintheframeworkofGMES.Lowresolutiondatasetsobtainedbyvarioussensorswerecombinedtoproduceauniquehighqualitylong-termtimeseries[1985-2005]ofdatawithwhichtoanalysetrendsinlanduseandlandcover.Bydevelopingspecificindexesitwaspossibletodetectseasonalandannuallandcoverchanges.Inaddition,theriskoffireandtherecoverypotentialofvegetationwereassessedinthesavannahregionsofSouthernAfrica,thesearefactorswithamajorimpactonCO

2levelsin

theatmosphere.Theabilitytoestimatetheplantproductionofforestsandmajorcropswasalsoimproved,partlybytakingintoaccountplantevaporationandlimitsinwateravailability.Thisquantitativeapproachisresultinginabetterunderstandingofglobalvegetationdyna-micsandconsequentlyinamoreeffectivepolicy.

P r o j e c t s G L O V E G + G E O S U C C E S S F e d e r a l S c i e n c e P o l i c y

A better understanding of terrestrial ecosystems

Observation area Theentireplanet,AfricaandEuropeSatellite imageryNOAA-AVHRRMETEOSATMODISLANDSATVEGETATION

O b j e c t i v e > > >

M e t h o d o l o g y > > >

R e s u l t > > >

Theproject aims to arrive at abetter understandingof terrestrial ecosystemsdynamicsby:- The development of remote sensing-basedmeasurements of important parameters forvegetationstatus(NDVI,NEP,etc.).- Theanalysisof theevolutionof theseparameterson10-day, seasonalandannual timescales.- Linking of these parameters to ecosystemprocesses as a scientific basis for developingproductsandoperationalservices.

- ImprovementoftheVITO-VTTNOAA-AVHRRprocessingchain,mainly inrelationtoimagecalibrationandgeometry.Thechainwasalsoextendedtoincludemodulestodeterminethefollowingterrestrialsurfacevariables:broadbandalbedo,vegetationcoverfraction(VCF),landsurfacetemperature(LST),evaporativefraction(EF),waterdeficitindex(WDI),temperaturedifferencevegetationindex(TDVI),evapotranspiration(ET)andsoilmoisturecontent(SMC).-DevelopmentofthePDRS(Prospect,Disord,Rahman6S)radiativetransfermodelforSPOTVEGETATIONspecificbio-geophysicalparameters.-ExtensionoftheC-Fixmodelforestimatingvegetationproductivityinwater-limitedsitua-tions.-Creationofaprocessingchainfortheglobaldetectionofchangesinspectral,spatialandtemporalcharacteristicsoflandcover.-Developmentofnewchangedetectionindices:Sumoftheabsolutevalueofthechangevector(SCV),Differenceinintegratedvegetationindices(DIV)andSeasonalshiftindex(diffe-rencebetweenSCVandDIV).- Evaluationoffire risk indiceswith theaidofbinary logistics regression; testof selectedchlorophyll-relatedindicesonthebasisofFuelMoistureContent(FMC)inthesavannaheco-systemsofSouthernAfrica.-Developmentofaregreeningindexformonitoringtheregrowthofdisturbedvegetationbycomparingdisturbedpixelswithundisturbedreferenceareaswithacomparablesoil,vege-tationandclimate.

-Newbio-geophysicalproductsfortheSPOTVEGETATIONinstrument.-EstimationofevapotranspirationandsoilmoisturecontentinEurope.-Along-termtimearchiveforSouthernAfricaallowingtoassesschangesinvegetation.-Newparametersforanalysingthevariabilityofvegetationdynamics.-QuantificationandanalysisofannualchangesinvegetationinSub-SaharanAfricabetween2000and2004.-Abetterestimateofcarbonfixingbyplants.-Morepreciseestimateoffireriskinsavannahregionsandevaluationofvegetationregrowthafternaturaldisasters.

Change in vegetation across Africa as

measured by SCV index (the absolute

sum of the change vectors) between

(a) 2000-2001,

(b) 2001-2002,

and (c) 2002-2003.

Coordinator Dirk Van SpeybroeckTeledetectie en aard-observatieprocessen VITOdirk.vanspeybroeck@vito.be

Partners Pol Coppin Departement Landbeheer en -economieK.U.Leuvenpol.coppin@biw.kuleuven.be

Eric Lambin Unité de GéographieDépartement de Géologie et de GéographieUCLlambin@geog.ucl.ac.be

http://geofront.vgt.vito.be/geosuccess

G E O S U C C E S SUp-to-date Earth observation products available via the Internet TheoperationalGEOSUCCESSServiceCentreoffersusersawiderangeofEarthobservationproductsforthepurposesofmonitoringvegetationcoverandparametersworldwide.TheaimoftheGEOSUCCESSServiceCentreDemonstrationprojectwastoofferusersanimprovedservicebymakingupdatedimagescontinuouslyavailabletopermitalmostrealtimemonitoringofvegetationparameters.Thisserviceisaccompaniedbyahelpdeskthatassistsusersbyansweringtheirspecificquestions.TheGEOSUCCESSservicesareavailableviathehttp://geofront.vgt.vito.be/geosuccesswebsitethatalsoprovidesadditionalproductinformationandon-screenviewingofavailableproductsforselectionpurposes.TheGEOSUCCESSwebsitewasexpandedtoofferawiderrangeofproducts,extraselectionparametersandnewservices.GEOSUCCESSisaprojectimplementedbyGIM,TrasysandVITO.