Vegetation Cover Change on the Kerguelen Islands: 20 Years of MODIS Data
L'évolution de la couverture végétale des îles de Kerguelen : 20 ans de données MODIS
Résumé
The Kerguelen Islands (49°30'S, 69°30' E), located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Ocean, are characterized by marked isolation, low annual average temperatures (around 5°C) and a low diversity of vegetation. Because of their sensitivity to climatic variations, these islands are considered to be sentinels of global climatic disturbances for the southern hemisphere. Current climate changes, in particular rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns, do have a major impact on the dynamics and structure of the vegetation cover. In order to quantify these changes on the Kerguelen archipelago, an analysis of MODIS NDVI data (2003-2022) was carried out using the Mann-Kendall trend algorithm, enabling significant changes to be detected over time. The results indicate an 6.7% expansion in vegetation cover, a trend that is part of a wider phenomenon of greening observed in sub-polar and polar ecosystems, in response to recent global warming. This progression points to widespread long-term changes in the terrestrial ecosystems of the Kerguelen Islands and in their ecological functioning.
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