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Proxy global assessment of land degradation

Bai, Z. G. ; Dent, D. L. ; Olsson, Lennart LU and Schaepman, M. E. (2008) In Soil Use and Management 24(3). p.223-234
Abstract
Land degradation is always With Lis but its causes, extent and severity are contested. We define land degradation as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, Which may be assessed using lone-term, remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Deviation from the norm may serve as a proxy assessment of land degradation and improvement - if other factors that may be responsible are taken into account. These other factors include rainfall effects which may be assessed by rain-use efficiency, calculated from NDVI and rainfall. Results from the analysis of the 23-year Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI data indicate declining rain-use efficiency-adjusted NDVI on ca. 24% of the... (More)
Land degradation is always With Lis but its causes, extent and severity are contested. We define land degradation as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, Which may be assessed using lone-term, remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Deviation from the norm may serve as a proxy assessment of land degradation and improvement - if other factors that may be responsible are taken into account. These other factors include rainfall effects which may be assessed by rain-use efficiency, calculated from NDVI and rainfall. Results from the analysis of the 23-year Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI data indicate declining rain-use efficiency-adjusted NDVI on ca. 24% of the global land area with degrading areas mainly in Africa south of the equator, South-East Asia and south China, north-central Australia, the Pampas and swaths of the Siberian and north American taiga; 1.5 billion people live in these areas. The results are very different from previous assessments which compounded what is happening now with historical land degradation. Economic appraisal can be undertaken when land degradation is expressed in terms of net primary productivity and the resultant data allow statistical comparison With other variables to reveal possible drivers. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
productivity, net primary, land degradation, normalized difference vegetation index, rain-use efficiency, global relationships
in
Soil Use and Management
volume
24
issue
3
pages
223 - 234
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000259301100001
  • scopus:50249131992
ISSN
0266-0032
DOI
10.1111/j.1475-2743.2008.00169.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d02a2e49-51a8-4bed-a9f1-2c32398baf54 (old id 1246043)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:57:31
date last changed
2022-04-21 18:44:19
@article{d02a2e49-51a8-4bed-a9f1-2c32398baf54,
  abstract     = {{Land degradation is always With Lis but its causes, extent and severity are contested. We define land degradation as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, Which may be assessed using lone-term, remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Deviation from the norm may serve as a proxy assessment of land degradation and improvement - if other factors that may be responsible are taken into account. These other factors include rainfall effects which may be assessed by rain-use efficiency, calculated from NDVI and rainfall. Results from the analysis of the 23-year Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI data indicate declining rain-use efficiency-adjusted NDVI on ca. 24% of the global land area with degrading areas mainly in Africa south of the equator, South-East Asia and south China, north-central Australia, the Pampas and swaths of the Siberian and north American taiga; 1.5 billion people live in these areas. The results are very different from previous assessments which compounded what is happening now with historical land degradation. Economic appraisal can be undertaken when land degradation is expressed in terms of net primary productivity and the resultant data allow statistical comparison With other variables to reveal possible drivers.}},
  author       = {{Bai, Z. G. and Dent, D. L. and Olsson, Lennart and Schaepman, M. E.}},
  issn         = {{0266-0032}},
  keywords     = {{productivity; net primary; land degradation; normalized difference vegetation index; rain-use efficiency; global relationships}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{223--234}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Soil Use and Management}},
  title        = {{Proxy global assessment of land degradation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2008.00169.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1475-2743.2008.00169.x}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}