Topographic Effects on Grassland ANPP in the U.S. Great Plains: Insights from Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Modeling

Topographic Effects on Grassland ANPP in the U.S. Great Plains: Insights from Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Modeling | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 5 May 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Topographic Effects on Grassland ANPP in the U.S. Great Plains: Insights from Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Modeling Authors : Johny Arteaga 0009-0003-4028-5063 [email protected] , Melannie D Hartman , William J Parton , Yushu Xia , Jiaming Duan , Mitchell B Stephenson , Jerry Volesky , Maosi Chen , Darrin Sharp , Jonathan Straube , and Wei Gao Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174648264.49383960/v1 279 views 160 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Understanding spatial variation in grassland productivity is critical for ecological modeling and management. The Great Plains of North America, a vast grassland region east of the Rocky Mountains, exhibits strong gradients in above-ground net primary production (ANPP) linked to precipitation and finer-scale topoedaphic variation. Swales typically produce 40–80% more ANPP than adjacent ridges due to deeper, nutrient-rich soils with higher water-holding capacity. We used the DayCent-UV model to simulate interannual ANPP differences between ridges and swales at three grassland sites across a west-to-east precipitation gradient. This DayCent-UV version includes higher N fixation by plants in the swales. We evaluated the performance of remote sensing-derived vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, NIRv) in capturing interannual biomass variability across topoedaphic positions. To overcome saturation and cloud limitations in the most humid sites, we incorporated Sentinel-1 radar backscatter as an alternative proxy for vegetation biomass, which successfully detected both interannual and spatial differences and showed potential for identifying woody encroachment. We also compared model performance with RAP and RCTM, two satellite-driven models that use NDVI to estimate productivity. These models better captured swale dynamics than DayCent but overestimated ridge ANPP. Our results demonstrate a methodological framework that integrates process-based modeling with multi-source remote sensing to improve detection of fine-scale productivity variation in grassland ecosystems. Supplementary Material File (final_manuscript.pdf) Download 777.88 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 05 May 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords daycent grassland net primary productivity radar rangeland analysis platform rangeland carbon tracking and management remote sensing vegetation indices Authors Affiliations Johny Arteaga 0009-0003-4028-5063 [email protected] United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Melannie D Hartman United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author William J Parton United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Yushu Xia Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University View all articles by this author Jiaming Duan Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University View all articles by this author Mitchell B Stephenson Extension, and Education Center, Panhandle Research, University of Nebraska-Lincoln View all articles by this author Jerry Volesky Extension, and Education Center, West Central Research, University of Nebraska-Lincoln View all articles by this author Maosi Chen United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Darrin Sharp United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Jonathan Straube United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Wei Gao United States Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 279 views 160 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Johny Arteaga, Melannie D Hartman, William J Parton, et al. Topographic Effects on Grassland ANPP in the U.S. Great Plains: Insights from Remote Sensing and Ecosystem Modeling. Authorea . 05 May 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174648264.49383960/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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