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Baseline characterization of major Iberian vegetation types based on the NDVI dynamics

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Abstract

We present an approach to derive baseline conditions for the radiation intercepted by vegetation in the largest remaining patches of homogeneous vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula. These baseline conditions can serve as a reference to assess environmental changes. We also characterized the major vegetation types of the Peninsula in the functional space defined by the NDVI dynamics and analyzed the climatic controls of NDVI dynamics. We analysed the attributes of the NDVI seasonal dynamics: annual mean (NDVI-I), relative range (RREL), NDVI maximum and minimum values (MAX and MIN), months of MAX and MIN (MMAX and MMIN), and their inter-annual variabilities (1982–1999). We selected as reference sites only homogeneous pixels occupied by natural vegetation. We described their relationship with climatic variables using regression models. NDVI-I and RREL captured most of the variability of the NDVI annual profile. Eurosiberian vegetation types were more productive, with winter minima and summer maxima. Mediterranean vegetation had summer minima and maxima distributed from autumn to spring. Inter-annual differences (higher in the Mediterranean) were low for NDVI-I and MAX and high for RREL and MIN. Precipitation was the main driver of NDVI-I for the Mediterranean pixels while temperature constrained it in the Eurosiberian ones. Seasonality (RREL) was associated with winter temperatures in Eurosiberian areas and with summer drought in Mediterranean ones. The Iberian vegetation types mainly differed in terms of total production and seasonality. Such differences were related to mean and inter-annual variation in precipitation and temperature associated with the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean climate zones. The NDVI dynamics allowed us to identify a functional signature for each vegetation type which captures differences that go beyond their range of climatic factors. Our baseline descriptions, based on a common approach to characterize vegetation functioning, are proposed as reference situations to evaluate the impact of environmental changes on the remaining large patches of single major natural and seminatural vegetation types.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous referees for their suggestions that improved the manuscript. P. Escribano, P. Durante, and M. Torres helped compositing the Spanish Forest Map. Financial support was given by Postdoctoral program of Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, FEDER funds, Junta de Andalucía (projects RNM1288 and RNM1280), Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales (project 066/2007), Ecología de Zonas Áridas Research Group, University of Almería, Proyecto Estratégico of the University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, and FONCYT. Satellite data were provided by the EOS-DAAC at Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA-NOAA). CORINE land-cover database was provided by the EIONET—European Environmental Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Clark Hall, 291, McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4123, USA

    Domingo Alcaraz-Segura

  2. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería, Spain

    Domingo Alcaraz-Segura & Javier Cabello

  3. Laboratorio de Análisis Regional y Teledetección, Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA), Universidad de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Av. San Martín 4453, 1417, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Domingo Alcaraz-Segura & José Paruelo

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  1. Domingo Alcaraz-Segura
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Correspondence to Domingo Alcaraz-Segura.

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Table 4 Mahalanobis distances (lower left side) and F-values for the distances (upper right side) between the centroids of each vegetation type group
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Alcaraz-Segura, D., Cabello, J. & Paruelo, J. Baseline characterization of major Iberian vegetation types based on the NDVI dynamics. Plant Ecol 202, 13–29 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-008-9555-2

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