Status for: Gross and Net Primary Productivity (MOD17)

 
General Accuracy Statement

MOD17 GPP/NPP validation graphic

Figure 1. The conceptual logic we are following for validation of
MOD17 GPP with fluxtower data where tower meteorology, ground
measured FPAR and more rigorous ecosystem models are
sequentially substituted to evaluate sources of error and variability
in MOD17 (based on Running et al. 1999).

Stage 3 validation has been achieved for the MODIS GPP product.

The original strategy for validation of the MOD17 GPP and NPP data, devised an overall plan to integrate MODIS Land data into global terrestrial monitoring Running et al. (1999). This paper laid the foundation for the interaction between the MODIS land team and the eddy covariance fluxtower community, illustrating the mutual advantage of fluxtowers providing direct measurement of carbon and water fluxes, while MODIS land products provided a spatial extrapolation of the tower data, Figure 1.

MOD17 annual GPP

Figure 2. Annual tower GPP against MOD17A2 GPP for sites in 6
biome types. See Wang et al. (2017) for details.

 

 

 

 

 

Flux towers directly measure the CO2 flux, so the most direct comparison for MOD17 is with GPP, rather than NPP, a biomass measure.

A number of recent papers have used this type of input swapping logic to test MOD17 in multiple biome types. Wang et al. (2017) tested MOD17A2H, Collection 6 across 18 tower sites in 6 biomes (Figure 2), and found that much of the error at sites with GPP above 1000gCm-2yr-1 could be traced to cloud contaminated input data from MODIS LAI/FPAR (MOD15). With better LAI/FPAR data, correlation results were much stronger.

MOD17 tower GPP

Figure 3. GPP from fluxtowers of forests worldwide compared
to MOD17A2. See Tang et al. (2015) for details.

 

 

Another study of grassland biomes has been published by Zhu et al. (2018), using MOD17A2 compared against flux tower data, see Figure 4.

A similar study by Tang et al. (2015) with 16 forest fluxtower sites in North America and Europe, tested MOD17A2 annual GPP against tower data. The sites included evergreen needleleaf, evergreen broadleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests and used Collection 5.5 data. Overall results for annual GPP can be found in Figure 3. Another study of grassland biomes has been published by Zhu et al. (2018), using MOD17A2 compared against flux tower data, see Figure 4.

Each of these studies, Tang et al. (2015), Wang et al. (2017), and Zhu et al. (2018), identified poor MOD15 data, predominantly from cloud contamination, as the source of most error in the MOD17 results. These errors are amplified in warm tropical regions that have both high NPP and high cloud cover.

 MOD17 grassland GPP validation graphic
Figure 4. GPP from MOD17 compared against fluxtower GPP for grasslands in tropical, temperate and alpine
environments. See Zhu et al. (2018) for details.


Product status updated:  February 2024
Product version:  Collection 6.1
 
Supporting Studies:

Title: Continuity of global MODIS terrestrial primary productivity estimates in the VIIRS era using model-data fusion
Author: Endsley, K.A., M. Zhao, J.S. Kimball, and S. Devadiga
Source: JGR Biogeosciences 128, e2023JG007457, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JG007457
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Underestimates of Grassland Gross Primary Production in MODIS Standard Products
Author: Zhu, X.; Pei, Y.; Zheng, Z.; Dong, J.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, J.; Chen, L.; Doughty, R.B.; Zhang, G.; Xiao, X.
Source: Remote Sens. 2018, 10, 1771
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Evaluation of the Latest MODIS GPP Products across Multiple Biomes Using Global Eddy Covariance Flux Data
Author: Wang, L., Zhu, H., Lin, A., Zou, L., Qin, W. and Du, Q.
Source: Remote Sensing, 9(5), p.418
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: A comprehensive assessment of MODIS-derived GPP for forest ecosystems using the site-level FLUXNET database
Author: Tang, X., Li, H., Huang, N., Li, X., Xu, X., Ding, Z. and Xie, J.
Source: Environmental Earth Sciences, 74(7), pp.5907-5918, doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4615-0
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Spatiotemporal patterns of terrestrial gross primary production: A review.
Author: Anav, A., Friedlingstein, P., Beer, C., Ciais, P., Harper, A., Jones, C., Murray_Tortarolo, G., Papale, D., Parazoo, N.C., Peylin, P. and Piao, S.
Source: Reviews of Geophysics, 53(3), pp.785-818, doi: 10.1002/2015RG000483
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: The global NPP dependence on ENSO: La Niña and the extraordinary year of 2011
Author: Bastos, A., Running S. W., Gouveia C., and Trigo R. M.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Volume 118, Issue 3, Number 3, p.1247-1255.
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Global Bioenergy Capacity as Constrained by Observed Biospheric Productivity Rates
Author: Smith, W. K., Zhao M., and Running S. W.
Source: BioScience, 62:10, p.911-922
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Reconciling satellite with ground data to estimate forest productivity at national scales
Author: Hasenauer, H., Petritsch R., Zhao M., Boisvenue C., Running S. W.
Source: Forest Ecology and Management, 276: 196-208
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: A model_data comparison of gross primary productivity: Results from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis
Author: Schaefer, K., Schwalm, C.R., Williams, C., Arain, M.A., Barr, A., Chen, J.M., Davis, K.J., Dimitrov, D., Hilton, T.W., Hollinger, D.Y. and Humphreys, E.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 117(G3)
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Evaluating spatial and temporal patterns of MODIS GPP over the conterminous US against flux measurements and a process model
Author: Zhang, F., Chen, J.M., Chen, J., Gough, C.M., Martin, T.A. and Dragoni, D.
Source: Remote Sensing of Environment, 124, pp.717-729, doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.06.023
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Drought Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 through 2009
Author: Zhao, M., S.W. Running
Source: Science 329: 940-943
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Title: Sensitivity of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) terrestrial primary production to the accuracy of meteorological reanalyses
Author: Maosheng Zhao, Steven W. Running, Ramakrishna R. Nemani
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, G01002, doi:10.1029/2004JG000004, 2006
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Evaluation of MODIS NPP and GPP products across multiple biomes
Author: David P. Turner, William D. Ritts, Warren B. Cohen, Stith T. Gower, Steve W. Running, Maosheng Zhao, Marcos H. Costa, Al A. Kirschbaum, Jay M. Ham, Scott R. Saleska, Douglas E. Ahl
Source: Remote Sensing of Environment 102 (2006) 282-292
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Assessing Interannual Variation in MODIS-Based Estimates of Gross Primary Production
Author: David P. Turner, William David Ritts, Maosheng Zhao, Shirley A. Kurc, Allison L. Dunn, Steven C. Wofsy, Eric E. Small, Steven W. Running
Source: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 44, No. 7, July 2006
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Evaluation of Remote Sensing Based Terrestrial Productivity From MODIS Using Regional Tower Eddy Flux Network Observations
Author: Faith Ann Heinsch, Maosheng Zhao, Steven W. Running, John S. Kimball, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Kenneth J. Davis, Paul V. Bolstad, Bruce D. Cook, Ankur R. Desai, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Beverly E. Law, Walter C. Oechel, Hyojung Kwon, Hongyan Luo, Steven C. Wofsy, Allison L. Dunn, J. William Munger, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Liukang Xu, David Y. Hollinger, Andrew D. Richardson, Paul C. Stoy, Mario B. S. Siqueira, Russell K. Monson, Sean P. Burns, and Lawrence B. Flanagan
Source: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 44, No. 7, July 2006
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Title: Improvements of the MODIS terrestrial gross and net primary production global data set
Author: Maosheng Zhao, Faith Ann Heinsch, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Steven W. Running
Source: Remote Sensing of Environment 95 (2005) 164-176
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Title: Site-level evaluation of satellite-based global terrestrial gross primary production and net primary production monitoring
Author: David P. Turner, William D. Ritts, Warren b. Cohen, Thomas K. Maeirsperger, Stith T. Gower, Al A. Kirschbaum, Steve W. Running, Maosheng Zhao, Steven C. Wofsy, Allison L. Dunn, Beverly E. Law, John L. Campbell, Walter C. Oechel, Hyo Jung Kwon, Tilden P. Meyers, Eric E. Small, Shirley A. Kurc, John A. Gamon
Source: Global Change Biology (2005) 11, 666-684, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.00936.x
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Title: Carbon and water fluxes over a temperate Eucalyptus forest and a tropical wet/dry savanna in Australia: measurements and comparison with MODIS remote sensing estimates
Author: Ray Leuning, Helen A. Cleugh, Steven J. Zegelin, Dale Hughes
Source: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 129 (2005) 151-173
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Usefulness and limits of MODIS GPP for estimating wheat yield
Author: M. C. Reeves, M. Zhao, S. W. Running
Source: International Journal of Remote Sensing Vol. 26, No. 7, 10 April 2005, 1403-1421
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: Improving continuity of MODIS terrestrial photosynthesis products using an interpolation scheme for cloudy pixels
Author: S. Kang, S. W. Running, M. Zhao, J. S. Kimball, J. Glassy
Source: International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 26, No. 8, 20 April 2005, 1659-1676
View Abstract and Access Publication
 
Title: A Continuous Satellite-Derived Measure of Global Terrestrial Primary Production
Author: Steven. W. Running, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Faith Ann Heinsch, Maosheng Zhao, Matt Reeves, Hirofumi Hashimoto
Source: BioScience, June 2004, Vol. 54 No. 6
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Title: Scaling Gross Primary Production (GPP) over boreal and deciduous forest landscapes in support of MODIS GPP product validation
Author: David P. Turner, William D. Ritts, Warren B. Cohen, Stith T. Gower, Maosheng Zhao, Steve W. Running, Steven C. Wofsy, Shawn Urbanski, Allison L. Dunn, J.W. Munger
Source: Remote Sensing of Environment 88 (2003) 256-270
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Title: Intercomparison of MODIS and Tower Eddy Flux-based Estimates of Gross Primary Production
Author: Heinsch, F.A., J.S. Kimball, A.J. Oakins, M. Zhao, S. Kang, R. Nemani, and S.W. Running
Source: AGU 2002 - MODIS Land Products Session
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