Evaluation of Water and Carbon Estimation Models in the Caatinga Biome Based on Remote Sensing

The study of energy, water, and carbon exchanges between ecosystems and the atmosphere is important in understanding the role of vegetation in regional microclimates. However, they are still relatively scarce when it comes to Caatinga vegetation. This study aims to identify differences in the dynamics of critical environmental variables such as net radiation (Rn), evapotranspiration (ET), and carbon fluxes (gross primary production, GPP) in contrasting recovered Caatinga (dense Caatinga, DC) and degraded Caatinga (sparse Caatinga, SC) in the state of Paraiba, northeastern Brazil. Estimates were performed using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL), and comparisons between estimated and measured data were conducted based on the coefficient of determination (R-2). The fluxes were measured using the Eddy Covariance (EC) method for comparison with the same variables derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data aboard the Terra satellite. The estimates showed higher Rn values for the DC, indicating that this area should have greater energy availability for physical, biological, and chemical processes. The R-2 between daily Rn estimates and observations was 0.93. The ET estimated using the SEBAL showed higher differences in relation to the observed values; however, it presented better spatial discrimination of the surface features. The MOD16A2 algorithm, however, presented ET values closer to the observed data and agreed with the seasonality of the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). The DC generally showed higher ET values than the SC, while the MODIS data (GPP MOD17A2H) presented a temporal behavior closer to the observations. The difference between the two areas was more evident in the rainy season. The R-2 values between GPP and GPP MOD17A2H were 0.76 and 0.65 for DC and SC, respectively. In addition, the R-2 values for GPP Observed and GPP modeled were lower, i.e., 0.28 and 0.12 for the DC and SC, respectively. The capture of CO2 is more evident for the DC considering the whole year, with the SC showing a notable increase in CO2 absorption only in the rainy season. The GPP estimated from the MOD17A2H showed a predominant underestimation but evidenced the effects of land use and land cover changes over the two areas for all seasons.