No abstract

Agriculture (e.g., rice paddies) has been considered one of the main emission sources responsible for the sudden rise of atmospheric methane concentration (XCH 4) since 2007, but remains debated. Here we use satellite-based rice paddy and XCH 4 data to investigate the spatial-temporal relationships between rice paddy area, rice plant growth, and XCH 4 in monsoon Asia, which accounts for~87% of the global rice area. We find strong spatial consistencies between rice paddy area and XCH 4 and seasonal consistencies between rice plant growth and XCH 4. Our results also show a decreasing trend in rice paddy area in monsoon Asia since 2007, which suggests that the change in rice paddy area could not be one of the major drivers for the renewed XCH 4 growth, thus other sources and sinks should be further investigated. Our findings highlight the importance of satellite-based paddy rice datasets in understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of XCH 4 in monsoon Asia.

Extensive forest changes have occurred in monsoon Asia, substantially affecting climate, carbon cycle and biodiversity. Accurate forest cover maps at fine spatial resolutions are required to qualify and quantify these effects. In this study, an algorithm was developed to map forests in 2010, with the use of structure and biomass information from the Advanced Land Observation System (ALOS) Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) mosaic dataset and the phenological information from MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MOD13Q1 and MOD09A1) products. Our forest map (PALSARMOD50 m F/NF) was assessed through randomly selected ground truth samples from high spatial resolution images and had an overall accuracy of 95%. Total area of forests in monsoon Asia in 2010 was estimated to be ~6.3 × 106 km2. The distribution of evergreen and deciduous forests agreed reasonably well with the median Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in winter. PALSARMOD50 m F/NF map showed good spatial and areal agreements with selected forest maps generated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA F/NF), European Space Agency (ESA F/NF), Boston University (MCD12Q1 F/NF), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO FRA), and University of Maryland (Landsat forests), but relatively large differences and uncertainties in tropical forests and evergreen and deciduous forests.

Accurate information on the gross primary production (GPP) of paddy rice cropland is critical for assessing and monitoring rice growing conditions. The eddy co-variance technique was used to measure net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 between paddy rice croplands and the atmosphere, and the resultant NEE data then partitioned into GPP (GPP EC ) and ecosystem respiration. In this study, we first used the GPP EC data from four paddy rice flux tower sites in South Korea, Japan and the USA to evaluate the biophysical performance of three vegetation indices: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) in terms of phenology (crop growing seasons) and GPP EC , which are derived from images taken by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. We also ran the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), which is driven by EVI, LSWI, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and air temperature, to estimate GPP over multiple years at these four sites (GPP VPM ). The 14 site-years of simulations show that the seasonal dynamics of GPP VPM successfully tracked the seasonal dynamics of GPP EC (R 2 ＞0.88 or higher). The cross-site comparison also shows that GPP VPM agreed reasonably well with the variations of GPP EC across both years and sites. The simulation results clearly demonstrate the potential of the VPM model and MODIS images for estimating GPP of paddy rice croplands in the monsoon climates of South Korea and Japan and the Mediterranean climate in California, USA. The application of VPM to regional simulations in the near future may provide crucial GPP data to support the studies of food security and cropland carbon cycle around the world.

Sugarcane (complex hybrids of Saccharum spp., C4 plant) croplands provide cane stalk feedstock for sugar and biofuel (ethanol) production. It is critical for us to analyze the phenology and gross primary production (GPP) of sugarcane croplands, which would help us to better understand and monitor the sugarcane growing condition and the carbon cycle. In this study, we combined the data from two sugarcane EC flux tower sites in Brazil and the USA, images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, and data-driven models to study the phenology and GPP of sugarcane croplands. The seasonal dynamics of climate, vegetation indices from MODIS images, and GPP from two sugarcane flux tower sites (GPPEC) reveal the temporal consistency in sugarcane phenology (crop calendar: green-up dates and harvesting dates) as estimated by the vegetation indices and GPPEC data. The Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) is shown to be useful to delineate the phenology of sugarcane croplands. The relationship between the sugarcane GPPEC and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) is stronger than the relationship between the GPPEC and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We ran the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), which uses the light use efficiency (LUE) concept and is driven by climate data and MODIS images, to estimate the daily GPP at the two sugarcane sites (GPPVPM). The seasonal dynamics of the GPPVPM and GPPEC at the two sites agreed reasonably well with each other, which indicates that VPM is a powerful tool for estimating the GPP of sugarcane croplands in Brazil and the USA. This study clearly highlights the potential of combining eddy covariance technology, satellite-based remote sensing technology, and data-driven models for better understanding and monitoring the phenology and GPP of sugarcane croplands under different climate and management practices.