Evaluating phenological trends of different vegetation types in response to climate change over the Rajmahal Hills in India during 2001-2019

The present study employed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) dataset to track vegetation phenological trends in response to climate change activity over the Rajmahal Hills in India during 2001-2019. Two key phenological metrics (i.e., start of the season (SOS), and end of the season (EOS)) were estimated, and their long-term trends were studied for each vegetation type. The study findings revealed that the start of season (SOS) generally occurred during late March (Julian day (JD) 81) to early April (JD 97), whilst the end of season (EOS) has been predominantly observed during early March (JD 65) to end of March (JD 81). Furthermore, the SOS and EOS of most vegetation types (except WSV and MF) showed a delaying trend during 2001-2010 at the rate of 0.009-0.29 day year(-1); 0.03-0.33 day year(-1), respectively. Conversely, the SOS and EOS of all the vegetation types (except for MF) showed an advancing trend during 2010-2019 at the rate of 0.06-0.24 day year(-1); 0.17-0.23 day year(-1), respectively. The changes in the trends of SOS and EOS of different vegetation types mainly were perceived due to local climate change activity (changes in precipitation and temperature pattern).

Automated summary

This study used MODIS-based EVI dataset to investigate the vegetation phenological trends in response to climate change in the Rajmahal Hills region of India from 2001 to 2019. The start of season (SOS) and end of season (EOS) were analyzed, and it was found that most vegetation types showed either an advancing or delaying trend, influenced by changes in precipitation and temperature patterns.