int. j. remote sensing, 2002, vol. 23, no. 19, 4055–4071 Monitoring phenological cycles of desert ecosystems using NDVI and LST data derived from NOAA-AVHRR imagery G. DALL’OLMO* and A. KARNIELI† *Center for Advanced Land Management and Information Technologies, 133 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA; e-mail: gdall@calmit.unl.edu †The Remote Sensing Laboratory, J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker Campus, 84990, Israel; e-mail: karnieli@bgumail.bgu.ac.il (Received October 2000; in nal form July 2001 ) Abstract. The potential of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- istration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) for monitoring phenological cycles in semi-arid lands has been demonstrated in this study. Attention was focused on two areas located only a few kilometres apart but across the political border between the Negev (Israel) and Sinai (Egypt). Although the areas are identical from the pedological, geomorphological, and climatic points of view, due to diVerent land management, the Negev is under a continuous rehabilitation process while Sinai is under a desertication process. Four years of digital data were used to compute the Normalized DiVerence Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperatures (LST) over two sam- pling polygons. The NDVI was used to monitor the vegetation reaction to rainfall, while LST proved to be a good indicator of seasonal climatic uctuations. Using these biological and physical variables, the potential for following the vegetation dynamics throughout the year was demonstrated. Through cluster analysis, it was shown that the movements of the Sinai desertied side in the LST-NDVI space are only due to seasonal climatic uctuations. On the Israeli recovered side, on the other hand, three diVerent parts of the annual ecological cycle of the indigenous vegetation are evident: the dry season in which plants reduce their activity, the rainy season, and a growing season characterised by relatively intense biological activity. Within the LST-NDVI space it was also shown that Sinai is positioned similarly to the Sahara biome and the Negev similarly to the Sahel biome. Finally, LST-NDVI data were used to estimate phenological parameters that can be exploited for dening protection policies or, on the long term, for climate change studies. 1. Introduction Desert ecosystems are characterised by high spatial and temporal variability mainly due to scarcity of water. The need for long-term and widespread collection Paper presented at an International Workshop on ‘Land Cover/Land Use Change and Water Management in Arid Regions: Remote Sensing Applications in the East’. The workshop took place at the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Sede Boker Campus, Ben Gurion University of the Negev between 23–27 October, 2000. Internationa l Journal of Remote Sensing ISSN 0143-1161 print/ISSN 1366-5901 online © 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd http: //www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/01431160110115988