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Improved Model for Semideciduous Seasonal Forest Production of Leaves and Deciduousness



Author(s)

Thomaz Costa

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DOI:10.17265/2162-5298/2017.12.002

Core of Water, Soil and Environmental Sustainability (NSAM), Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, Sete Lagoas 35701-970, Brazil

The climate, mainly the water availability and temperature, drives the renewal of biomass in seasonal forest ecosystem, and the greenness and leaf area of its canopy are responsive by climate variations. This study verified models to explain the phenomenon of leaf production and deciduousness by time, with LAI (Leaf Area Index), NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and climate variables, on period 2011-2016. The data were obtained in satellite images and in plots installed at forest monitoring sites, visited monthly. The analysis incorporated the water balance. Three equations were compared, two already published and the equation that was adjusted in this work. The model was improved and validated with new variables and data. It is possible to estimate the fall and renew of leaves biomass in semideciduous forests with reasonable precision.

Ecosystem dynamics, climate variables, LAI, NDVI.