Garrido-Leiva et al. (2026) Topographic Modulation of Vegetation Vigor and Moisture Condition in Mediterranean Ravine Ecosystems of Central Chile

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Identification

• Journal: Forests
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-02
• Authors: Jesica Garrido-Leiva, Leonardo Durán-Garate, Waldo Pérez-Martínez
• DOI: 10.3390/f17020201

Research Groups

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study investigates the relationships between topographic metrics and vegetation condition proxies in a Mediterranean ecosystem, revealing that concave and less rugged areas exhibit higher vegetation vigor and moisture, with vegetation water content being particularly sensitive to topographic position and thermal anisotropy.

Objective

• To evaluate the relationships between the topographic metrics Topographic Position Index (TPI), Terrain Ruggedness Index (TRI), and Diurnal Anisotropic Heat Index (DAH) and two spectral proxies of vegetation condition, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), in Los Nogales Nature Sanctuary (central Chile).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Los Nogales Nature Sanctuary, central Chile (micro-scale).
• Temporal Scale: Multitemporal Sentinel-2 time series from 2017 to 2025 (8 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) with Gaussian distribution and cubic splines.
• Data sources: Sentinel-2 satellite time series for NDVI and NDMI. Topographic metrics (TPI, TRI, DAH) derived from terrain data.

Main Results

• All topographic predictors (TPI, TRI, DAH) were statistically significant (p < 0.001) in explaining vegetation condition.
• NDVI and NDMI values were consistently higher in concave and less rugged areas.
• NDVI and NDMI values decreased toward convex and thermally exposed slopes.
• NDMI exhibited greater sensitivity to topographic position and thermal anisotropy compared to NDVI, indicating a strong dependence of vegetation water condition on topographically driven water redistribution.

Contributions

• Provides quantitative evidence for the significant role of terrain heterogeneity in modulating vegetation vigor and moisture in Mediterranean ecosystems at the micro-scale.
• Demonstrates the utility of Generalized Additive Models for detecting non-linear topographic responses in vegetation indices.
• Highlights the differential sensitivity of vegetation vigor (NDVI) versus water condition (NDMI) to topographic drivers, emphasizing the importance of water redistribution.

Funding

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{GarridoLeiva2026Topographic,
  author = {Garrido-Leiva, Jesica and Durán-Garate, Leonardo and Pérez-Martínez, Waldo},
  title = {Topographic Modulation of Vegetation Vigor and Moisture Condition in Mediterranean Ravine Ecosystems of Central Chile},
  journal = {Forests},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/f17020201},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/f17020201}
}