Spatial persistence and temporal patterns in vegetation cover across Florida, 1982-2006

The study analyzes the spatial persistence and temporal patterns in vegetation cover across Florida by utilizing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer from 1982 to 2006. Specifically, mean-variance analysis and persistence metrics are used to discern the significance of vegetation patterns, the significance of land cover and land-use change, and the relevance of climate variability across time and space. Results demonstrate a consistent, increasing pattern in the mean NDVI and its variance, especially during the late fall and winter season. A possible explanation of this increasing pattern is based on the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, which switched from cold to warm phase after 1995 and is associated with increased winter precipitation. Additionally, the impacts of the El Nino Southern Oscillation can be detected through the decreased spatial variances of NDVI in warm-phase events, compared to cold-phase events, and the more pronounced nature of the pattern in fall/winter. This study proposes a novel set of techniques applied to satellite-derived vegetation data, which effectively discerns fine, statewide vegetation dynamics at appropriate spatial and temporal scales.