A phenology-based method to derive biomass production anomalies for food security monitoring in the Horn of Africa

Monitoring vegetation conditions is a critical activity for assessing food security in the Horn of Africa. Remote sensing from space offers a unique opportunity to obtain consistent and timely information over large and often inaccessible areas where field observations are scattered, non-homogenous, or frequently unavailable. In this study we outline a method to assess objectively the performance and characteristics of seasonal vegetation development solely on the basis of time series of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) derived from Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre SPOT-VEGETATION (SPOT-VGT) imagery. Key phenological indicators such as the start and end of growing periods are derived from a statistical analysis of the time series to characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of successive seasons. These indicators are then utilized to compute a proxy of the seasonal gross primary production (GPP) as the cumulative FAPAR during the growing season. Vegetation condition and associated risk of food deficit for specific seasons and locations are finally derived from the comparison of the seasonal GPP proxy with its average value computed over the whole time series. The impact on vegetation of the severe drought experienced by the Horn of Africa between late 2010 and late 2011 is discussed.