Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd
The Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus (Borowski, 1780)) herd declined from ∼349 000 animals in 1996 to ∼8200 in 2018. Climate-driven changes to tundra and boreal vegetation is one hypothesis for the decline. We modelled and mapped annual productivity and phenology across the herd’s r...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0003 https://doaj.org/article/8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea 2023-05-15T14:22:21+02:00 Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd Katherine D. Dearborn Ryan K. Danby 2022-03-01 https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0003 https://doaj.org/article/8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea en fr eng fre Canadian Science Publishing doi:10.1139/as-2021-0003 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea undefined Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 228-251 (2022) remote sensing vegetation index NDVI EVI MODIS caribou envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0003 2023-01-22T17:51:07Z The Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus (Borowski, 1780)) herd declined from ∼349 000 animals in 1996 to ∼8200 in 2018. Climate-driven changes to tundra and boreal vegetation is one hypothesis for the decline. We modelled and mapped annual productivity and phenology across the herd’s range using enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data derived from a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time series spanning 2000–2017. Maximum annual EVI, growing season length, and time-integrated EVI increased significantly on 16%, 18%, and 49% of the core annual range, respectively. Trends toward longer growing seasons were driven entirely by earlier spring green-up and, along with time-integrated EVI, were most prevalent in tundra regions. Trends in forested regions were overwhelmingly related to the influence of forest fires, which burned more than half of the range below the forest–tundra ecotone since 1965. These trends suggest that climate-driven changes in production and phenology have occurred in the tundra and forest–tundra portions of the range and could have contributed to the recent herd decline. However, the trends may also be a result of herd decline itself, given the loss of this large herbivore from the landscape. Elucidating cause and effect will require comprehensive analysis of interactions between climatic variables, herd dynamics, and vegetation change, complemented by targeted field investigations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Rangifer tarandus Tundra Unknown Arctic Science 8 1 228 251 |
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Open Polar |
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English French |
topic |
remote sensing vegetation index NDVI EVI MODIS caribou envir geo |
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remote sensing vegetation index NDVI EVI MODIS caribou envir geo Katherine D. Dearborn Ryan K. Danby Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
topic_facet |
remote sensing vegetation index NDVI EVI MODIS caribou envir geo |
description |
The Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus (Borowski, 1780)) herd declined from ∼349 000 animals in 1996 to ∼8200 in 2018. Climate-driven changes to tundra and boreal vegetation is one hypothesis for the decline. We modelled and mapped annual productivity and phenology across the herd’s range using enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data derived from a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time series spanning 2000–2017. Maximum annual EVI, growing season length, and time-integrated EVI increased significantly on 16%, 18%, and 49% of the core annual range, respectively. Trends toward longer growing seasons were driven entirely by earlier spring green-up and, along with time-integrated EVI, were most prevalent in tundra regions. Trends in forested regions were overwhelmingly related to the influence of forest fires, which burned more than half of the range below the forest–tundra ecotone since 1965. These trends suggest that climate-driven changes in production and phenology have occurred in the tundra and forest–tundra portions of the range and could have contributed to the recent herd decline. However, the trends may also be a result of herd decline itself, given the loss of this large herbivore from the landscape. Elucidating cause and effect will require comprehensive analysis of interactions between climatic variables, herd dynamics, and vegetation change, complemented by targeted field investigations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Katherine D. Dearborn Ryan K. Danby |
author_facet |
Katherine D. Dearborn Ryan K. Danby |
author_sort |
Katherine D. Dearborn |
title |
Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
title_short |
Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
title_full |
Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
title_fullStr |
Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
title_full_unstemmed |
Remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the Bathurst caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
title_sort |
remotely sensed trends in vegetation productivity and phenology during population decline of the bathurst caribou (rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) herd |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0003 https://doaj.org/article/8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea |
genre |
Arctic Rangifer tarandus Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Rangifer tarandus Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 228-251 (2022) |
op_relation |
doi:10.1139/as-2021-0003 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/8836dc91061f4b99b908a3978d9c05ea |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0003 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
228 |
op_container_end_page |
251 |
_version_ |
1766294968093114368 |