The desertification process causes soil degradation and a reduction in vegetation. The absence of visualisation techniques and the broad spatial and temporal dimension of the data hampers the identification of desertification and rapid decision-making by multidisciplinary teams. The 2D Scatter Plot is a two-dimensional visual analysis of reflectances in the red (630 -690 nm) and nearinfrared (760 -900 nm) bands to visualise the spectral response of the vegetation. The hypothesis of this study is that visualising the reflectances of the vegetation by means of a 2D scatter plot will allow desertification to be inferred. The aim of this study was to identify desertified areas and characterise the spatial and temporal dynamics of the vegetation and soil during dry (DP) and rainy (RP) periods between 2000 and 2008, using a 2D scatter plot. The 2D scatter plot generated by the Envi ® 4.8 software and the reflectances in bands 3 and 4 of the TM5 sensor were used within communities in the Irauçuba hub (Ceará, Brazil). The concentration densities of the near-infrared reflectances of the vegetation pixels were observed. Each community presented pixel concentrations with reflectances of less than 0.4 (40%) during each of the periods under evaluation, indicating little vegetation development, with further degradation caused by deforestation, the use of fire and overgrazing. The 2D scatter plot was able to show vegetation with low reflectance in the near infrared during both dry and rainy periods between 2000 and 2008, thereby inferring the occurrence of desertification.
Desertification models do not include analyses of rainfall, temporality, field visits and projection scenarios. The objective is to evaluate desertification under levels of vegetation, soil and albedo, construct forecast models and analyze its variability with time and rainfall. Landsat TM was used for NDVI, TGSI and albedo between 2000 and 2008 in dry and rainy periods in Irauçuba Centro Norte (ICN) and in the National Forest of Sobral (FLONA). Desertification levels and indices of 30 pixels were quantified and their means were inputs in the ARIMA model. The results showed vegetation and albedo at different levels of desertification. The medium desertification class of NDVI increased by 18% at ICN and the low desertification class of albedo
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