Asymmetric Response of Vegetation Greening near Tropic of Cancer in China to El Niño/Southern Oscillation
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) consistently modulates climate patterns in terrestrial ecosystems, triggering vegetation greening or browning. Although vegetation dynamics in the tropics during ENSO has been widely reported, the response of vegetation greening in the near-tropics to ENSO remains...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/6/977 |
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| Summary: | El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) consistently modulates climate patterns in terrestrial ecosystems, triggering vegetation greening or browning. Although vegetation dynamics in the tropics during ENSO has been widely reported, the response of vegetation greening in the near-tropics to ENSO remains uncertain. Here, we explored vegetation greening near the Tropic of Cancer in China (TCC) during three sustained ENSO events during 2001–2018 based on long-term MODIS satellite Leaf Area Index (LAI) products (i.e., MOD15A2H). The results revealed a pronounced asymmetry in vegetation greening responses to ENSO near the TCC. Specifically, vegetation browning during strong La Niña (i.e., LAI anomalies about −0.15) is twice as high as vegetation greening during strong El Niño (i.e., LAI anomalies about +0.05). In La Niña, vegetation browning was accompanied by negative surface air temperature and precipitation anomalies, while in El Niño, vegetation greening was dominated by a positive anomaly in precipitation. This study emphasizes the distinct impact of ENSO on vegetation greening in the near-tropics, providing important insights into the response of vegetation dynamics to climate extremes under a warming world. |
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| ISSN: | 2072-4292 |