Detecting inter-annual variability in the phenological characteristics of southern Africa’s vegetation using satellite imagery

Vegetation phenology refers to the timing of seasonal biological events (for example, bud burst, leaf unfolding, vegetation growth and leaf senescence) and biotic and abiotic forces that control these. Daily, coarse-resolution satellite imagery provides consistent measurements of vegetation greenness which captures phenological cycles and vegetation function. Understanding the inter-annual variability in phenology is imperative, as phenological changes will be one of the first signs of the impact of climate change on ecosystem dynamics. This chapter offers new insights into the spatial patterns of the phenometrics and their inter-annual variability that could not be mapped without long-term satellite time-series data. This technique helps to close the gap that existed between plot-level vegetation data and broad-scale climate data during traditional regional vegetation mapping.