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A comparative study of satellite and ground-based phenology
S Studer1, R Stöckli, C Appenzeller
1Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Krähbühlstr. 58, 8044 Zurich, Switzerland.
International Journal of Biometeorology
|January 20, 2007
Summary
Ground-based and satellite plant phenology data were compared to assess climate change impacts. Satellite metrics generally align with ground observations, but the maximum slope approach is less suitable for start-of-season comparisons.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Remote Sensing
- Climate Science
Background:
- Long-term ground-based plant phenology offers species-specific accuracy but limited spatial coverage.
- Satellite-derived phenological metrics provide global-scale, landscape-level vegetation monitoring.
- Integrating both methods is crucial for understanding climate variability and trends in terrestrial vegetation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare ground-observed spring phenology with satellite-derived start-of-season (SOS) metrics.
- To evaluate the suitability of different satellite phenology approaches for climate impact studies.
- To assess the correlation between phenological metrics and temperature anomalies in Switzerland.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of a multispecies ground-observed spring index with two satellite-derived SOS metrics (maximum slope and threshold approach).
- Analysis focused on Switzerland from 1982 to 2001.
- Correlation analysis of phenological metrics with temperature anomalies.
Main Results:
- Temporal and spatial variability of the ground-based index corresponded well with satellite-derived metrics.
- All phenological metrics showed expected correlations with temperature anomalies.
- The maximum slope approach for satellite-derived SOS deviated significantly from ground observations and the threshold approach.
Conclusions:
- Satellite-derived phenological metrics, particularly the threshold approach, show good correspondence with ground observations for assessing climate impacts.
- The maximum slope approach is less suitable for direct comparison with ground-observed phenology due to indicating a different vegetation development stage.
- Improved accounting for snow cover in satellite data is recommended for future studies using newer sensors.
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