Articles | Volume 22, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1985-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1985-2025
Research article
 | 
24 Apr 2025
Research article |  | 24 Apr 2025

Seasonality and synchrony of photosynthesis in African forests inferred from spaceborne chlorophyll fluorescence and vegetation indices

Russell Doughty, Michael C. Wimberly, Dan Wanyama, Helene Peiro, Nicholas Parazoo, Sean Crowell, and Moses Azong Cho

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We find West African solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) increases during the dry season and peaks before precipitation, similar to the Amazon. In central Africa, a continental-scale bimodal SIF seasonality appears; its minimum aligns with precipitation, but its maximum seems less environmentally driven. Notably, differences between SIF and vegetation index (VI) seasonality indicate VI-based photosynthesis estimates may be inaccurate.
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