Relationships between vegetation indices, fractional cover retrievals and the structure and composition of Brazilian Cerrado natural vegetation

A novel approach using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and shortwave infrared ratio (SWIR32) effectively retrieves fractional cover of photosynthetic, non-photosynthetic vegetation, and bare soil across the structurally complex Cerrado savannah in Brazil. The study leverages high-resolution EO-1 Hyperion data to derive end-member values, which are then applied to MODIS imagery to assess seasonal and geographic variations. Validation with Quickbird-2 images showed a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.13 for photosynthetic vegetation cover, though errors were higher for bare soil and non-photosynthetic vegetation. The research highlights the potential of this method for monitoring Cerrado land covers but notes limitations due to sub-pixel heterogeneity and seasonal effects.

Hill, M. J., Zhou, Q., Sun, Q., Schaaf, C. B., & Palace, M. (2017). Relationships between vegetation indices, fractional cover retrievals and the structure and composition of Brazilian Cerrado natural vegetation. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 38(3), 874–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2016.1271959