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T1 Analysis of the Phenology of Global Vegetation using Meteorological Satelite Data
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A2 Justice, C. O.
A2 Townshend, J. R. G.
A2 Holden, B. N.
A2 Tucker, C. J.
K1 agriculture
K1 climate
K1 environmental monitoring
K1 meteorological satellite
K1 meteorological research
K1 remote sensing
K1 vegetation
YR 1985
FD 1985
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/25877
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/25877
NO Coarse spatial resolution, high temporal frequency satellite data from the NOAA/AVHRR system are presented to demonstrate their utility for monitoring vegetation seasonal dynamics. The techniques for processing and analysing the data are outlined and examples are given for selected applications at a range of scales. Normalized difference vegetation index images are presented for the entire globe and for the continents of Africa, South America and south-east Asia, with descriptions of the seasonal dynamics of major vegetation formations as portrayed by the transformed AVHRR data. Monitoring of forest clearance in Brazil, the productivity of African grasslands, Indian tropical forest and Chinese agriculture are selected for discussion. The paper concludes that coarse-resolution satellite data provide a valuable tool for vegetation mapping and monitoring at regional and global scales.
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 17, 2026