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Remote sensing

A green illusion

Nature volume 506, pages 165–166 (2014)Cite this article

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An analysis reveals that satellite-observed increases in canopy greenness during dry seasons, which were previously interpreted as positive responses of Amazon forests to more sunlight, are in fact an optical artefact. See Letter p.221

Amazon forests cover about half of the world's area of tropical forest and constitute one of the largest reservoirs of insect, animal and plant biodiversity. The forests also have a crucial role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus climate-change trajectories. Nevertheless, the biogeochemical responses of these ecosystems to climate drivers remain poorly understood. For example, it is not clear whether the primary driver of the Amazon forests' seasonal patterns of greenness is the availability of light or that of water, nor how these ecosystems respond to drought. Remote-sensing studies conducted to address such questions have produced divergent results, leading to ongoing controversy. However, in this issue, Morton et al.1 (page 221) present findings on the causes of satellite-observed greenness changes that could be decisive in this context.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kamel Soudani and Christophe François are in the Ecology, Systematic and Evolution Laboratory (CNRS–University of Paris-Sud), 91400 Orsay, France.,

    Kamel Soudani & Christophe François

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  1. Kamel Soudani
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  2. Christophe François
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Correspondence to Kamel Soudani or Christophe François.

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Soudani, K., François, C. A green illusion. Nature 506, 165–166 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13052

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