Global Multi-Faceted Application and Evaluation of Three Commonly Used NDVI Products for Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring

Qi Liu (), Zehao Pan, Ziyue Wang, Jiali Tang, Junda Qiu, Jiaqi Han, Haozhong Zheng and Shijie Li
Additional contact information
Qi Liu: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Zehao Pan: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Ziyue Wang: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Jiali Tang: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Junda Qiu: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Jiaqi Han: National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing 100085, China
Haozhong Zheng: School of Computer Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou 213001, China
Shijie Li: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, 50139 Firenze, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a fundamental metric for monitoring terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and assessing ecological responses to climate change. However, uncertainties persist across NDVI products, and a comprehensive assessment of their consistency is lacking. This study conducts a multi-faceted evaluation of three NDVI products, GIMMS V1.2 NDVI (NDVI 3g+ ), PKU GIMMS NDVI (NDVI pku ), and MODIS NDVI (NDVI mod ), to elucidate their performance across ecosystem applications. Our analysis encompasses a comparative analysis of NDVI values, trends, sensitivity to root-zone soil moisture (RSM), and performance in tracking photosynthesis benchmarked against solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). Our results reveal that NDVI 3g+ deviates notably from NDVI pku and NDVI mod over cold climates and Evergreen Broadleaf Forest (EBF). Additionally, NDVI 3g+ exhibits significant global browning, in contrast to the significant greening observed for NDVI pku and NDVI mod . Although their responses to RSM are generally uncertain, consistent positive responses appear in Drylands, with NDVI mod showing the highest sensitivity. Additionally, the three NDVI products have high seasonality consistency with SIF, except over EBF, and NDVI pku and NDVI 3g+ achieve the highest and lowest overall anomaly consistency with SIF, respectively. Furthermore, converting NDVI 3g+ , NDVI pku , and NDVI mod to the corresponding kernel NDVIs improves seasonality consistency with SIF across 85% of the globe.

Keywords: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; values; annual trends; responses to soil moisture; vegetation activity representation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9790/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9790/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9790-:d:1786726

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().