On the relation of vegetation and southwest monsoon rainfall over Western Ghats, India

This article presents the tendency of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the dependence of vegetation on the rainfall and number of rainy and non-rainy days over Western Ghats. The study makes use of MODIS Terra NDVI data with 8-day intervals and 250-m resolution from 2000 to 2010 during the southwest monsoon (June to September) season. The results show an increasing tendency of the NDVI over different test sites in Western Ghats. The relation of the NDVI with the Antecedent Precipitation Index obtained from rainfall showed good agreement, and the relation of rainfall and the NDVI was mainly dependent on the available soil moisture levels and elevations of the test sites. Correlations were significant and positive with the number of rainy days and negative with the number of non-rainy days with a nearly 2-month lag.