What do satellite vegetation indices actually measure? Photosynthetic capacity rather than transient physiological function across 328 global FLUXNET sites
Yiran Zhang, Xuanlong Ma, Kaiyue Luo, Xiaowei Liu, Chunyan Cao
This paper investigates what satellite vegetation indices measure by analyzing their relationship with GPP across 328 FLUXNET sites, finding they reflect structural capacity rather than dynamic physiological function.
bioRxiv · Aug 21, 2026 · PreprintEcology