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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418040
Research Project: Knowledge Systems and Tools to Increase the Resilience and Sustainablity of Western Rangeland Agriculture

Location: Range Management Research

Title: USDA LTAR Common Experiment measurement: PhenoCam for Green Chromatic Coordinate

Author
item Browning, Dawn
item Saliendra, Nicanor
item Whippo, Craig

Submitted to: Protocols.io
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2024
Publication Date: 8/5/2024
Citation: Browning, D.M., Saliendra, N.Z., Whippo, C.W. 2024. USDA LTAR Common Experiment measurement: PhenoCam for Green Chromatic Coordinate. Protocols.io. Research notes.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Phenology is the study of seasonal dynamics and how environmental conditions such as temperature and rainfall influence it over different time periods. In the case of plants, phenology is a primary control of productivity. Phenology can be studied through color-based image analysis using a digital camera (PhenoCam) most commonly mounted on a tower that captures time-lapse photographs of vegetation canopies. Metrics of canopy greenness can be calculated from PhenoCam imagery as a continuous record of canopy and surface greenness. The most commonly used greenness metric is the green chromatic coordinate (GCC), which is similar to the normalized difference vegetation index derived from satellite remote sensing. PhenoCam images provide unique insights into vegetation dynamics at a daily time step and the associated ecosystem metrics affected by management and climate change.