Phenology Dynamics of Dryland Ecosystems Along the North Australian Tropical Transect Revealed by Satellite Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence

Abstract

Accurate phenological characterization of dryland ecosystems has remained a challenge due to the complex composition of plant functional types, each having distinct phenological dynamics, sensitivity to climate, and disturbance. Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF), a proxy for photosynthesis, offers potential to alleviate such challenge. We here explore this potential using dryland systems along the North Australian Tropical Transect with SIF derived from Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2. SIF identified the seasonal onset and senescence of Gross Primary Production at eddy covariance sites with improved accuracy over Enhanced Vegetation Index and Near-Infrared Reflectance of terrestrial Vegetation from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, especially at inland xeric shrublands. At regional scale, SIF depicted both earlier onset and senescence across North Australian Tropical Transect. We hypothesized that SIF outperformed Enhanced Vegetation Index and Near-Infrared Reflectance of terrestrial Vegetation mainly because, unlike reflectance, it is not contaminated by background soil, and its total signal is contributed by mixed plant species in additive way.