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Satellites reveal browning mountain forests
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1122-sekar-browning-mountain-forests.html#usxUtv8pASOUwXms.99In a dramatic response to global warming, tropical forests in the high elevation areas of five continents have been "browning" since the 1990s. They have been steadily losing foliage, and showing less photosynthetic activity.
Scientists analyzed the forest cover by using satellites to measure sunlight bouncing off the surface of the earth, then determining the different surface types via reflection patterns. Areas with lush foliage where photosynthetic rates are high appear green, and areas with less foliage look brown. The formula used to express the "greenness" or "brownness" of an area is called the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
For a study published in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers from institutions in India and Indonesia used NDVI to study changes in tropical mountain vegetation from 1982 to 2006. Mountain ecosystems are isolated, and act as microcosms of a range of temperatures and climatic types. They are considered ecologically sensitive and especially vulnerable to climate change, especially those in tropical areas.
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1122-sekar-browning-mountain-forests.html#5mRXtugSfytCco0j.99
Scientists analyzed the forest cover by using satellites to measure sunlight bouncing off the surface of the earth, then determining the different surface types via reflection patterns. Areas with lush foliage where photosynthetic rates are high appear green, and areas with less foliage look brown. The formula used to express the "greenness" or "brownness" of an area is called the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
For a study published in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers from institutions in India and Indonesia used NDVI to study changes in tropical mountain vegetation from 1982 to 2006. Mountain ecosystems are isolated, and act as microcosms of a range of temperatures and climatic types. They are considered ecologically sensitive and especially vulnerable to climate change, especially those in tropical areas.
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1122-sekar-browning-mountain-forests.html#5mRXtugSfytCco0j.99