The fundamental problem in hydrologic modeling is the representation of the dynamic linkages between climate, vegetation and soil moisture. The spatial and temporal nature of these linkages needs to be well represented in any model. The soil moisture at any site is influnced by the stochastic distribution of precipitation and other climate factors. Since the water movement from the soil to the atmosphere is largely controlled by vegetation, understanding the vegetation dynamics at a site can lead to the understanding of soil moisture dynamics.
Satellite Remote Sensing derived vcegetation indices such as NDVI and EVI provide better representation of spatial and temporal dynimics of vegetation. I intend to study the spatial and temporal veriation of vegetation phenologies under different climatic conditions, paricularly in the tropical watersheds, in order to derive probabilistic ditribution of vegetation dynamics. The vegetation growth is largely modulated by available moisture at the root zone and, thus, will resonate to the changes in soil moisture and act as an indicator of spatial and temporal variation of soil msoiture.