The annual pattern of vegetation emergence/bud burst, growth, and
senescence (phenology) is important for a wide variety of natural resource activities,
including livestock grazing, seed collection, fuels assessments, and
wildlife management. WWETAC has developed PhenoMap, a suite of weekly phenology layers derived from
eMODIS NDVI data.
The NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) essentially
measures land surface "greeness" and is directly related the overall phenological
condition within a remotely sensed pixel. Pixel size is approximately 250m x 250m (15 acres). For more information on PhenoMap
click here.
We have conducted validation studies using PhenoCam data and have
prepared a Forest Service General Technical Report describing this work. Additionally we are conducting an analysis of vegetation
data collected weekly at 17 plots on the Nebraska National Forest to focus on the use of PhenoMap to inform range management.
