Bhutan FAPAR Anomalies: 10-Day Vegetation Health Composites

This geospatial dataset provides 10-day time composites of Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) anomalies for Bhutan, produced by Copernicus. The data utilizes Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor readings to measure vegetation greenness and health on a dimensionless scale from 0 to 1. It serves as a specialized indicator for detecting and monitoring the impacts of agricultural drought across the country.

Use Cases

• Detecting agricultural drought by analyzing FAPAR anomaly deviations from historical baselines
• Monitoring seasonal vegetation productivity using 10-day VIIRS time composites
• Assessing forest health in Bhutan by mapping pixel-level absorption values

Strengths

• Derived from high-resolution VIIRS sensor data
• Standardized 0-1 dimensionless scale for cross-comparison
• 10-day temporal resolution allows for near real-time drought monitoring

Limitations

• Geographic scope is limited to Bhutan only
• Raster format requires specialized GIS software for analysis
• Lack of tabular metadata for individual observation points

Provenance

Source

Copernicus

Collection Method

Remote sensing via Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensors

Freshness

Last updated March 2026; follows a 10-day temporal composite frequency.

Geography

Bhutan