SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION PATTERNS OF THE MODIS VEGETATION INDICES FOR THE CERRADO BIOME

While the MODIS vegetation indices have been extensively investigated regarding their potential for mapping and biophysical monitoring of the Cerrado biome, particularly with respect to the seasonality and phenology of the vegetative cover, very little is known about the spatial behavior of these indices. Thus, this study assessed, at the "macroecology" scale (1 x 1 spatial resolution), the autocorrelation patterns of both the EVI (enhanced vegetation index) and NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), using Moran's I coefficients obtained for several geographic distance classes (spatial correlogram). On average, the values presented by these two indices are correlated up to a distance of about 800 km, possibly revealing a patch pattern affected by environmental variables and native vegetation conversion. On the other hand, these spatial similarity patterns are mainly influenced by the marked seasonal contrast of the cerrado biome, as well as by the land cover classes and the vegetation index considered (i.e. EVI or NDVI).