Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products

Soil moisture is the most important parameter for vegetation growth and greenness in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of soil moisture variations on vegetation conditions in the center of the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region (Morocco). The data used to...

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Main Authors: Rida Khellouk, Ahmed Barakat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-05-01
Series:Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24749508.2025.2506853
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author Rida Khellouk
Ahmed Barakat
author_facet Rida Khellouk
Ahmed Barakat
author_sort Rida Khellouk
collection DOAJ
description Soil moisture is the most important parameter for vegetation growth and greenness in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of soil moisture variations on vegetation conditions in the center of the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region (Morocco). The data used to achieve these objectives are as follows: the time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the time series of SMOS data products (soil moisture and ocean salinity). These data cover the growing season (2017–2018). The relationship between soil moisture and NDVI is calculated based on Lag (10-day back); the underlying reason that has been the current state of NDVI can be affected by the state of soil moisture a few periods back. Results clearly showed the lagged effect of soil moisture on the condition of crops (cereals). The results indicate that NDVI is strongly related to soil moisture which reaches maximum positive correlations of 0.53. Therefore, this approach tested in this study could be used as an effective tool for monitoring and mapping the effect of soil moisture on vegetation. It can be applied by farmers for crop management and monitoring.
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issn 2474-9508
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series Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes
spelling doaj-art-2e444d8ab1c244ba959a66afc49c4e2c2025-08-20T03:48:06ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeology, Ecology, and Landscapes2474-95082025-05-011910.1080/24749508.2025.2506853Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS productsRida Khellouk0Ahmed Barakat1Laboratory of Georesources and Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan My Slimane University, Beni-Mellal, MoroccoLaboratory of Georesources and Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan My Slimane University, Beni-Mellal, MoroccoSoil moisture is the most important parameter for vegetation growth and greenness in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of soil moisture variations on vegetation conditions in the center of the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region (Morocco). The data used to achieve these objectives are as follows: the time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the time series of SMOS data products (soil moisture and ocean salinity). These data cover the growing season (2017–2018). The relationship between soil moisture and NDVI is calculated based on Lag (10-day back); the underlying reason that has been the current state of NDVI can be affected by the state of soil moisture a few periods back. Results clearly showed the lagged effect of soil moisture on the condition of crops (cereals). The results indicate that NDVI is strongly related to soil moisture which reaches maximum positive correlations of 0.53. Therefore, this approach tested in this study could be used as an effective tool for monitoring and mapping the effect of soil moisture on vegetation. It can be applied by farmers for crop management and monitoring.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24749508.2025.2506853Soil moisturevegetationMorocco
spellingShingle Rida Khellouk
Ahmed Barakat
Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes
Soil moisture
vegetation
Morocco
title Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
title_full Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
title_short Spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and NDVI in semi-arid areas of Morocco by coupling SMOS and MODIS products
title_sort spatiotemporal relationships between remotely sensed soil moisture and ndvi in semi arid areas of morocco by coupling smos and modis products
topic Soil moisture
vegetation
Morocco
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24749508.2025.2506853
work_keys_str_mv AT ridakhellouk spatiotemporalrelationshipsbetweenremotelysensedsoilmoistureandndviinsemiaridareasofmoroccobycouplingsmosandmodisproducts
AT ahmedbarakat spatiotemporalrelationshipsbetweenremotelysensedsoilmoistureandndviinsemiaridareasofmoroccobycouplingsmosandmodisproducts