ANALYSIS OF THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN THE VEGETATION INDEX AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIMATE PARAMETERS IN THE HYDROGRAPHIC BASIN OF THE UPPER REACHES OF THE RIVER PARAIBA, STATE OF PARAIBA, BRAZIL

This study aimed to analyze the spatial and temporal variation of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), as well as the relationship among climate parameters in the basin of the upper reaches of the River Paraiba, which includes all or some of the eighteen municipalities, distributed in the regions of Western and Eastern Cariri of Paraiba state. 168 MODIS images were used (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer), corresponding to the twelve months of the year from 2000 to 2013, to obtain the vegetation indexes, which were then correlated with rainfall and average air temperature data. We used the kriging method of spatial data and thematic maps. The main results show that the average score of the vegetation index decreases from the northwest and northeast to the central portion of the basin, with the minimum score in the municipality of Congo. The vegetation index was spatially and temporally heterogeneous, corresponding to regional climate characteristics. The dry year 2013 presented vegetation index values below the rainy year of 2008, but still there is intra-annual and space-time variations. There were negative correlations between vegetation indexes and the air temperature, as well as positive correlations, most significantly, with pluvial precipitation.