Publications

Joiner, J; Yoshida, Y (2020). Satellite-based reflectances capture large fraction of variability in global gross primary production (GPP) at weekly time scales. AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY, 291, 108092.

Abstract
A perception has emerged, based on several studies, that satellite-based reflectances are limited in terms of their ability to predict gross primary production (GPP) globally at weekly temporal scales. The basis for this inference is in part that reflectances, particularly expressed in the form of vegetation indices (VIs), convey information about potential rather than actual photosynthesis, and they are sensitive to non-green substances (e.g., soil, woody branches, and snow) as well as to chlorophyll. Previous works have suggested that processing and quality control of satellite-based reflectance data play an important role in their interpretation. In this study, we use high quality reflectance data from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to train neural networks that are used to upscale GPP estimated from eddy covariance flux tower measurements globally. We quantify the ability of the machine learning approaches to capture GPP variability at daily to interannual time scales. Our results show that MODIS reflectances, when paired only with potential short-wave radiation, are able to capture a large fraction of GPP variability (approximately 77%) at daily to weekly time scales. Additional meteorological information (temperature, water vapor deficit, soil water content, ET, and incident radiation) captures only a few more percent of the GPP variability. The meteorological information is used most effectively when information about plant functional type and climate classification is included. We show that machine learning can be a useful tool for estimating GPP uncertainties as well as GPP itself from upscaling methods. Our estimated global annual mean GPP for 2007 is 142.5 +/- 7.7 Pg C y(-1), which is higher than some other satellite-based estimates but within the range of other reported observation-, model-, and hybrid-based values.

DOI:
10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108092

ISSN:
0168-1923