SPECTRAL RESPONSE VARIATIONS AS INDICATORS OF SEASONAL FLOODS IN PANTANAL USING SPOT-VEGETATION TIME SERIES

Resumen

Vegetation.s NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) in comparison to the historical standard (1998 to 2012) for each pixel and ten-day period, and compared it with the standardized rainfall estimates from TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission). The methodology used allows verifying how much the vegetation cover was above or below its normal behavior, enabling comparisons among different regions due to data standardization. We verified that the Standardized Vegetation Index (SVI) was an indicator of variability of seasonal floods for the Pantanal biome in the dry and rainy seasons of 2011/2012. We also verified a delay in the vegetation spectral response to water conditions. During the rainy season, the SVI was higher than normal due to the rainfall anomalies which led to a lower water layer thus causing an increase in NDVI. The analysis confirms that SVI and satellite-estimated rainfall anomalies were efficient indicators of flood variability in Pantanal