Interannual Variability of Biomass (SMOS Vegetation Optical Depth) Over the Contiguous United States

Interannual variability in biomass represented by SMOS vegetation optical depth (VOD) and precipitation was assessed over the Contiguous United States. The greatest interannual variability in both VOD and precipitation occurred in shrubs and herbaceous (grasslands), with forests the least variable. At a continental scale, VOD was strongly correlated with annual precipitation. Results showed a significant correlation coefficient (∼ 0.93) between interannual variability of precipitation and biomass, indicating that the interannual variability of precipitation could be a good predictor of the interannual variability of biomass.