Remotely Sensed Phenology of Coffee and Its Relationship to Yield

Abstract

Due to complex microclimatic interactions, a biannual phenological cycle, and the generally small scale of coffee plantations, there have been few applications of satellite observations to examine coffee yield. Using 2001-2006 data, surface precipitation and air temperature are related to MODIS surface temperature and fractional vegetation. Using lagged correlation analysis and deviations from the annual cycle, yield is related to accumulated deviations in fractional vegetation. Results imply that the coarse spatial resolution of MODIS data is compensated for by high temporal coverage, which allows for determination of coffee phenology.