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Global Patterns in Green-Up and Green-Down
Land cover #1 is the North Africa Wooded Grassland which is located in the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. These regions experience substantial vigor that
consistently remains above 0.3 in the months of April to November due to the green up that
result from the seasonal cycle of spring and summer from the months of April to November. This
is evidenced in the flipbooks that show low vigor in the months of January, February, November
and December, while there is an increase in vegetation vigor from the month of March to
September.
Land cover #2 is the Broad Leaf Evergreen located in South America which falls in the
mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. These regions experience substantial vigor that
consistently remains above 0.4 all year round. The uniformly high green up in the ecosystem is
due to the comparatively low surface area of the earth in the Southern Hemisphere as compared
to the North, resulting in localized use of available sunlight. In addition, this region is located
close to the equator and therefore has prolonged exposure to sunlight all through the year. This
can be evidenced in the flipbooks that show general high vigor throughout the year with a slight
decline in the months of June to October, which is a result of the seasonal cycle of relatively
short fall and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Land cover #3 is the Desert that is located in the Northern Hemisphere. This region has
significantly low vegetation vigor that constantly remains above 0.1 throughout the year. This is

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because the desert is not a conducive environment for plant growth and therefore only limited
vegetation is present in the ecosystem. Consequently, only a limited amount of sunlight is used in
the ecosystem for photosynthesis leading to a relatively low Normalized Difference Vegetation
Index (NDVI) as exemplified in the flipbooks where the desert remains pale year round.
Land cover #4 is the Southern Africa Wooded Grassland which is located in the Southern
Hemisphere. These regions experience high vegetation vigor that remains consistent above 0.3 in
the months of January to June and October to December. Green downs are more pronounced in
the months of July to September due to the seasonal cycle of fall and winter during these months.
This is evidenced in the flipbooks that show high vegetation vigor in the months of January,
February and March as well as November and December, while there is a decline in vegetation
vigor from the month of April to September. This is a fairly accurate reversal in the occurrence of
vegetation vigor in the Northern hemisphere as exemplified by the North Africa Wooded
Grassland and more prominent in the Arctic Tundra.
The reason for the inverse correlation between the vegetation vigor of the Southern
Africa Wooded Grassland and the Northern Hemisphere ecosystems is due to the annual climate
cycle. Spring and summer occur during the first half of the year in the Southern Hemisphere
while in the Northern Hemisphere, spring and summer occur in the mid to latter part of the year.
As a result, while Green-Up occurs in the months January to March and October to December in
the Southern Africa Wooded Grassland, there is a correlated Green-Down in the North Africa
Wooded Grassland during a similar period. In addition, the lower landmass in the South relative
to the North implies that seasonal changes in the South are less defined due to the propensity of
the earth to easily absorb and release heat. This leads to shorter seasonal features in the South
which explains why the vegetation vigor of the Southern Africa Wooded Grassland remains

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below 0.3 only between July and September, while that of the North Africa Wooded Grassland
remains above 0.4 between June and October. This indicates that there are shorter winters in the
South and longer summers in the North.
Land cover #5 is the Arctic Tundra of the Northern Hemisphere. These ecosystems have
low vegetation vigor that remains consistent below 0.1 apart from the months of to June to
September. Green ups are more pronounced in the months of July and August when the
vegetation vigor is above 0.3 due to the brief summers in the ecosystems. The relatively long fall
and winter in the Northern Hemisphere in addition to the comparatively high land mass of the
hemisphere implies that seasons are more defined with hot summers and cold winters. This is
evidenced in the flipbooks that show green ups in the months of July and August while there is
generally low vigor throughout the rest of the year.
62*N 130*E. In one to two sentences describe the landcover as you see it in the pictures, then
locate this site on the Natural Vegetation map on pages 24-25 of your atlas and identify the
vegetation type (the letter code).
The landcover appears to be composed of tall trees with slight, patchy grass cover.
According to the Natural Vegetation map, the growth of grass and shrubs in this area is uneven
and scattered.
3*N 115*E. In one to two sentences describe the landcover as you see it in the pictures, then
locate this site on the Natural Vegetation map on pages 24-25 of your atlas and identify the
vegetation type (the letter code).
The landcover appears to be mostly tall leafy trees with minimum grass cover. According
to the Natural Vegetation map, the growth of shrubs and bushes in this area is broad and
widespread.

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10*N 10*E. In one to two sentences describe the landcover as you see it in the pictures, then
locate this site on the Natural Vegetation map on pages 24-25 of your atlas and identify the
vegetation type (the letter code).
The landcover appears to be composed of short grass with scarce tall leafy trees.
According to the Natural Vegetation map, the growth of grass and shrubs in this region is
pervasive.
41*N 101*W. In one to two sentences describe the landcover as you see it in the pictures, then
locate this site on the Natural Vegetation map on pages 24-25 of your atlas and identify the
vegetation type (the letter code).
The landcover appears to be composed of short grass and trees. According to the Natural
Vegetation map, the growth of short grass and hibiscus plants is common and extensive in the
region.
71*N 80*W. In one to two sentences describe the landcover as you see it in the pictures, then
locate this site on the Natural Vegetation map on pages 24-25 of your atlas and identify the
vegetation type (the letter code).
The landcover appears to be mostly short grass. According to the Natural Vegetation
map, the growth of short grass in this area is irregular and the grass normally grows in unevenly
distributed patches.
The patterns of green up and senescence around my home in Mountain View, California
are characteristically similar to the mid Northern Hemisphere. Green downs generally start in
November when the fall seasonal changes result in the decline in vegetative cover especially
indicated by the decline in leaf coverage on trees such as apricot trees. As the seasons advance to
winter from mid December, the landcover mainly composed of short grass that becomes

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unevenly distributed and gradually dies away leaving the land almost bare with the limited
occurrence of sparsely distributed bushes and grass patches. Winter is relatively short and may
last for a few days to two weeks from late December to early January. Winter is underscored by a
comprehensive loss of landcover apart from single plants that remain under the snow during the
senescence.
In mid to late January, there is a renewed growth of grass cover and leaves start blooming
from the trees. The rains that extend from October to April facilitate the emergence of landcover
that can be seen in the grass and trees. By early July the green up is advanced with the prevalent
coverage of grasses and bushes in the area. This continues into August when the plant cover in
the area is green with trees full of leaves, bushes spread across the areas and grass cover becomes
evenly distributed. In late August, the grass begins to turn yellow while the bushes also start
drying up changing color from green to yellow and brown with the onset of autumn.