NDVI fluctuations from 1995 to 2006 in South Italy and North Africa: a search for a climate change indicator

摘要

Seasonal and interannual vegetation trends in the last eleven years were analyzed for two macro-regions, South Italy and North Africa, in search for evidence of climate changes and associated desertification processes. The South Italy macro-region comprises Apulia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily regions, while the North Africa one covers the northern part of Lybia. Vegetation index data for the whole Europe and North Africa can be retrieved from the DLR archive of thematic maps in the form of monthly composite Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) maps. The DLR archive dates back to 1995, thus the analysis could only be carried out for the last eleven years. The analysis of temporal vegetation variations was performed by implementing specific routines which provide objective measurements of vegetation trends and anomaly. Rainfall data for the same periods and geographic areas, were also analyzed in order to investigate the correlation between the two phenomena. Results for the two selected macro-regions, from 1995 to 2006, are presented and discussed. In a successive phase, this study will focus on distinguishing vegetation variations at regional level, in order to compare different local trends.