Relationships between Climate Parameters and Forest Vegetation At and Near Digya National Park, Ghana.

Abstract
This paper evaluates the effect of three climate parameters on forest cover in Ghana and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at Digya National Park derived from Landsat image data. Climate data (temperature, humidity, dewpoint, rainfall) are assembled from statistics provided by Ghana's Meteorological Agency. The study introduces a weighted averaging method by computing weather information from neighbouring stations. Also, this research introduces a model of dewpoints, enabling the direct calculation of dewpoints from temperature and humidity data. The major finding is that while temperature significantly affects forest cover and Park vegetation, dew-points and rainfall do not. The paper suggests where future research may be more fruitful in analyzing the effects of climate on vegetation.
Description
Keywords
Forest cover, vegetation, NDV, climate change, temperature, dewpoint, rainfall, remote sensing
Citation
Twumasi Yaw A, Coleman Tommy L, Manu Andrew, Merem Edmund C, Osei Albert. Relationships between Climate Parameters and Forest Vegetation At and Near Digya National Park, Ghana. British Journal of Environment and Climate Change. 2011 Oct-Dec; 1(4): 201-215.