Biological processes dominate seasonality of remotely sensed canopy greenness in an Amazon evergreen forest

What is it about?

Amazon forests are vulnerable to climate change, with large potential consequences for global carbon cycling. Satellite remote sensing has long been used to monitor their large-scale canopy structure, phenology and function dynamics, but confidence in detected patterns has been much debated; especially lacking were the underlying biophysical processes. Here, by connecting field observations with state-of-the-art canopy radiative transfer models, we identified underlying biophysical processes responsible for satellite-observed seasonal patterns in Amazonian forests. Our work thereby reconciles current controversies about satellite-detected phenology, and provides a convincing justification of using satellite remote sensing to study climate-phenology relationships and to retrieve important plant functional traits in the tropics.

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