Temporal trends of vegetation indices on Pampa grasslands in Brazil and Uruguay

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the reduction in the vegetative vigor of Pampa vegetation cover in Brazil and Uruguay, by identifying negative trends in images time series. The following were used: time series of NDVI/EVI images from the Modis sensor, from 2000 to 2011; images from soil moisture indices from the climate forecast system reanalysis; and precipitation data from meteorological stations. The study quantified linear and nonlinear trends in the NDVI and EVI series in grassland areas. With the Mann-Kendall monotonic trend, at 5% probability, 81.9% of the total area studied was significant with NDVI, and 74.8% with EVI; however, EVI showed superior contrast in the estimation of parameters. The results showed: highest negative signal in the west, with average values of R²>0.15, r<-0.3, and τ<-0.15 in the tendency of the vegetation indices; and decreasing tendency for NDVI, EVI, and rainfall, with lower mean soil moisture values. The negative trend of the vegetation indices, related to the combination of drought occurrence in surface soils with excessive grazing, indicates changes in the pattern of Pampa vegetation cover, with reduction in vegetative vigor.