DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00936
copiedThe Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): unforeseen successes in animal ecology
- Nathalie Pettorelli
- Sadie Ryan
- Thomas Mueller
- Nils Bunnefeld
- Bogumila Jędrzejewska
- Mauricio Lima
- Kyrre Kausrud
ABSTRACT: This review highlights the latest developments associated with the use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in ecology. Over the last decade, the NDVI has proven extremely useful in predicting herbivore and non-herbivore distribution, abundance and life history traits in space and time. Due to the continuous nature of NDVI since mid-1981, the relative importance of different temporal and spatial lags on population performance can be assessed, widening our understanding of population dynamics. Previously thought to be most useful in temperate environments, the utility of this satellite-derived index has been demonstrated even in sparsely vegetated areas. Climate models can be used to reconstruct historical patterns in vegetation dynamics in addition to anticipating the effects of future environmental change on biodiversity. NDVI has thus been established as a crucial tool for assessing past and future population and biodiversity consequences of change in climate, vegetation phenology and primary productivity.
KEYWORDS
Nathalie Pettorelli (Co-author)
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY London, UK
Sadie Ryan (Co-author)
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of California, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, California 93101-5504, USA
Thomas Mueller (Co-author)
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
Nils Bunnefeld (Co-author)
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umea, Sweden
Bogumila Jędrzejewska (Co-author)
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Waszkiewicza 1c, 17-230 Bialowieża, Poland
Mauricio Lima (Co-author)
- Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago CP 6513677, Chile
Kyrre Kausrud (Co-author)
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern,