Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (Jul 2016)

Vegetative growth of grasslands based on hyper-temporal NDVI data from the Modis sensor

  • Marcos Cicarini Hott,
  • Luis Marcelo Tavares de Carvalho,
  • Mauro Antonio Homem Antunes,
  • Polyanne Aguiar dos Santos,
  • Tássia Borges Arantes,
  • João Cesar de Resende,
  • Wadson Sebastião Duarte da Rocha

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-204X2016000700009
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 7
pp. 858 – 868

Abstract

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Abstract: The objective of this work was to analyze the development of grasslands in Zona da Mata, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2000 and 2013, using a parameter based on the growth index of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) data series. Based on temporal NDVI profiles, which were used as indicators of edaphoclimatic conditions, the growth index (GI) was estimated for 16-day periods throughout the spring season of 2012 to early 2013, being compared with the average GI from 2000 to 2011, used as the reference period. Currently, the grassland areas in Zona da Mata occupy approximately 1.2 million hectares. According to the used methods, 177,322 ha (14.61%) of these grassland areas have very low vegetative growth; 577,698 ha (45.96%) have low growth; 433,475 ha (35.72%) have balanced growth; 39,980 ha (3.29%) have high growth; and 5,032 ha (0.41%) have very high vegetative growth. The grasslands had predominantly low vegetative growth during the studied period, and the NDVI/Modis series is a useful source of data for regional assessments.

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