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Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.8 (3&4): 1141-1145. 2010

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Surface temperature correction in TVDI to evaluate soil moisture over a large area
Hongjun Li 1, Chunqiang Li 2, Yong Lin 3 and Yuping Lei 1*
1

Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050021, P. R. China. 2 Meteorological Institute of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, 050021, P. R.
China. 3 National Marine Environment Monitoring Center, State Oceanic Administration, Dalian, 116023, P. R. China.
*e-mail: leiyp@sjziam.ac.cn, lhj@sjziam.ac.cn
Received 7 July 2010, accepted 24 October 2010.

Abstract
The Temperature-Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI), based on an empirical relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation index
(VI), has been widely used in large area drought monitoring. Temporal and spatial variations of LST and VI (NDVI) over a large area in southern Hebei
Plain of China that covers five degrees North latitude are analyzed in this paper. We show that there were significant changes in crop phenological
stages and VI in different latitudes giving rise to a parabolic relationship between LST and latitude. The lower LST in the northern area caused by lower
air temperature leads to some errors in the use of TVDI. After removal of the influence of lower air temperature on LST, the accuracy of soil moisture
monitoring by TVDI is improved compared with observations of soil moisture.
Key words: TVDI, latitude, land surface temperature, air temperature, drought monitoring.

Introduction
As the trend in global warming becomes increasingly obvious,
more and more areas are becoming drought prone due to the
threat posed by a water crisis 1. The increases of area of arid
region and economic loss caused by drought emphasize the
importance of strengthening regional drought monitoring and
forecasting techniques. Traditional drought monitoring methods
use ground-based soil sampling to measure soil moisture in a
limited area, and for larger areas use interpolation methods with
limited sampling data 2. However, due to the spatial variability
of large area, it is very hard, or even impossible, to get complete
information about soil moisture for a large region using groundsampling methods 3.
In recent decades, the rapid development of remote sensing
technology has shown promising results in regional drought
monitoring 4, 5. Many drought monitoring models using a variety
of remote sensing data have been put forward 6-9. Using some
surface parameters retrieved from remote sensing data, such as
vegetation index (VI) and land surface temperature (LST), some
indices were calculated to describe regional drought 7. The
Temperature-Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI) presented by
Sandholt 10 is one model that is simple to calculate and easy to
apply.
One of the advantages of drought monitoring using remote
sensing is that it can cover a large area. However, the surface
conditions, such as terrain and altitude, vary with a change in
latitude and that introduces errors into the TVDI results. Taking
into account the cooling effect on LST caused by an increase in
altitude, Ran 11 corrected the TVDI method using a digital
elevation model (DEM), which improved the accuracy of drought
monitoring. When the latitude span of the monitored area is large,
errors in drought monitoring using the TVDI method can be
reduced by dividing the area into partitions 12 or sub-bands 13.
Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (3&4), July-October 2010

However, the division will reduce the contrast between different

partitions or sub-bands and influence the drought analysis of the
whole region. The TVDI method needs some refining to improve
its monitoring accuracy over large areas. Therefore, the objective
of this study is to analyze the spatial and temporal changes of
vegetation index and LST in different latitude as well as its
influences on TVDI method, by which, a correction method will
be proposed to improve the accuracy of TVDI method in largescale area.
Materials and Methods
Brief description of the TVDI method: TVDI is a simple and
effective method that has been widely used in regional drought
monitoring 12, 13. It describes drought conditions using the
relationship between LST and soil moisture. When soil water is
adequate, more energy will be used for evapotranspiration. As a
result, LST will be lower. Conversely, low soil moisture results
in a decrease of evapotranspiration, making the LST higher.
Therefore, LST may be used as an indicator for soil moisture.
As well, the VI should be considered in drought monitoring.
Different vegetation covers can cause a different energy balance
for the land surface, thus greatly affecting the LST.
Price 14 and Carlson 15 found that the scatter plot of LST and
VI formed a triangle as shown in Fig.1.
Using a spatial query method, the highest (Tmax) and the lowest
(Tmin) LST under the same VI can be found. Combined with VI,
equations for the dry side and wet side of the feature space can
be obtained using a linear fitting method 10:
Tmax = a1 + b1 * VI

(1)

Tmax = a2 + b2 * VI

(2)
1141

Wet side(Tmin)TVDI=0

Ground-based soil moisture observation data were obtained

from Hebei Province agricultural observation stations for the
comparison of before and after corrections of TVDI. The
distribution of soil moisture observation points is shown in Fig. 2.
Soil samples were collected using the method of four-point
averages, and moisture values were obtained by drying and
weighing. Meteorological data, obtained from Hebei Province
Meteorological Institute of Science, were collected from
weather stations of counties in the study area.

Partial cover
VI

Methodologies: NDVI is calculated by the following equation:

LST

Dry side (Tmax) TVDI=1

(VI,LST)

Bare soil

Full cover

Figure 1. Vegetation index - land surface temperature

feature space in TVDI.

NDVI =

where a1, b1, and a2, b2 are fitting coefficients of the dry side and
wet side, respectively. The dry side is the most arid region of the
monitoring area. Generally, the TVDI value of the dry side is set to
be 1, while that of the wet side (being the most humid region) is
set to be 0. Hence, TVDI at any point in this feature space can be
expressed as follows:
T - Tmin
TVDI =
Tmax - Tmin

(3)

where T is the LST at a point.

Datasets and observations: In this study, the southern plain of
Hebei Province of China (Fig. 2) was selected as the study area.
The Taihang Mountains are located in the west of Hebei Province
and the border of the plain was selected to be lower than 100 m in
altitude to the east side of them. Hebei southern plain spans the
region from latitude N36 to N40 and with altitude below 100 m.
This region has a semi-arid and sub-humid continental climate
and crop schedules here are dominated by the rotation of winter
wheat (Triticum aestivum) and summer maize (Zea mays).
Due to the high temporal resolution, NOAA/AVHRR data have
been widely used in regional drought monitoring and also used
in this research. Seven cloud-free NOAA datasets on March 7,
March 15, March 26, April 28, May 4, May 18 and May 28,
2008 were selected corresponding to the growing season of
winter wheat (from October 2007 to June 2008).

T a i h a n g

China

Figure 2. Location of the study area in Hebei Province.

1142

2 1
2 + 1

(4)

where 1 and 2 are the reflectivity of the first and second channel
of NOAA data. LST is calculated using equations 16 as follows:
T = T4+[1.29 + 0.28 (45)](45) + 45(14) 40

(5)

4 = 0.9897 + 0.029ln(NDVI)

(6)

= 0.01019 + 0.01344ln(NDVI)

(7)

where T4 and T5 are the brightness temperatures of the fourth

and the fifth channel of NOAA data (K), respectively, 4 is the
surface emissivity of the fourth channel of NOAA data,  is
the difference of surface emissivity between the fourth and the
fifth channel of NOAA data.
To analyze the spatial and temporal variations of NDVI and
LST, the study area was divided into 15 sub-regions at intervals
of 0.25 degrees of latitude. The averages of NDVI and LST where
NDVI is greater than 0 in each sub-region were calculated. At
the same time, the air temperature of each county was used to
analyze the effects on TVDI caused by a change of air
temperature. A correction for the TVDI method is proposed then.
In combination with surface soil moisture observation data, the
drought monitoring results after correction are evaluated.
Results and Discussion
Temporal and spatial variation of NDVI and LST: The range
of the latitude of the study area is 4 degrees. As mentioned above,
all the data, such as NDVI and LST, were divided into sub-regions
at 0.25 degrees intervals. The average NDVI and LST in each
sub-region were calculated where NDVI was greater than 0. As
shown in Fig. 3, there are some differences within NDVI and LST
at different latitudes.
From March to May in 2008, LST of different sub-regions
began to increase gradually. Before April, the increase of LST
was slow and fluctuating. After April, LST of the southern Hebei
plain increased rapidly, and there is a significant parabolic
relationship between LST and latitude. Lower LST appeared in
southern regions. With an increase in latitude, LST increased
gradually and reached a peak at N38-N39. After the peak, LST
decreased with an increase in latitude. Parabolic fitting equations
of LST and latitude for each day are listed in Table 1.
As shown in Fig. 3, there was a considerable difference in NDVI
between the north and the south. It was caused by the differences
in crop phenological stages. Yan 17 showed that, in this area,
Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (3&4), July-October 2010

LST

36
37
38
39
36
37
38
39
2008-3-7
Latitude
008-3-7
Latitude
308
306
304
302
300
298

LST

36
37
38
39
36
37
38
39
2008-3-26
Latitude
2008-326 Latitude
304
302
300
298
296
294

LST

36
37
36
37
2008-5-04
2008-5-04

38
38

Latitude
Latitude

39
39

0.25
0.25
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
0.10
0.05
0.05
0.00
0.00
40
40
0.50
0.50
0.40
0.40
0.30
0.30
0.20
0.20
0.10
0.10
0.00
0.00
40
40

36
37
36
37
2008-3-15
2008-3-15

0.30
0.30

310

0.20
0.20

305

0.10
0.10
36

37

2008-5-28

38

39

39
39

36
37
38
39
36
37
38
39
2008-4-28
2008-428 Latitude
Latitude

310
310

315

300

306
306
304
304
302
302
300
300
298
298
296
296

38
38

Latitude
Latitude

40
40

0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
40
40

NDVI

NDVI
NDVI
LST
LST

40
40

NDVI

298

0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00

With crop growing, evapotranspiration increases

gradually. Therefore, the areas with higher NDVI
have lower LST. However, if there is drought, the
reduction of evapotranspiration will make LST
higher. Therefore, the TVDI can reflect the drought
situation by comparing LST at the same NDVI.
With higher NDVI and higher evapotranspiration,
the south showed a lower LST. However, the LST
in the north, where NDVI is roughly the same, had
a significant decreasing trend with the increase in
latitude as shown in Fig. 3. This probably causes
errors in the TVDI method.

0.40

305
305
300
300

Spatial and temporal variations in air

temperature: In addition to the impact of
0.20
differences in crop phenological stages, LST is also
0.10
impacted by the air temperature (Ta). Ran 11
0.00
40
increased the accuracy of TVDI by the correction
40
of LST according to air temperature changes with
altitude. For the analysis of the impact of air
temperature on TVDI, air temperatures at 43 weather
stations in this area from March to May 2008 are
shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 shows there was little change in air
temperature in the areas with latitudes lower than
N38. When the latitude was greater than N38 air
temperature decreased with an increase in latitude,
especially in the days before the middle of April. Combining the
change of air temperature with the variation of LST (Fig. 3), we
can show the influence of air temperature on LST. Because of the
differences in crop phenological stages, the southern area with
early phenological stage showed a higher NDVI and lower LST.
The decrease in NDVI with the increase in latitude reduced the
evaporation of the crop and increases the LST. It made the LST
gradually increased from south to north. In the northern area,
there was little difference in NDVI among these sub-regions.
However, the decrease of air temperature caused a decline in LST.
So, this led to gradual cooling with an increase in latitude in the
north. The TVDI method is based on the reduction of LST caused
by evapotranspiration. However, the decrease in LST was caused
by the air temperature drop and the increased evapotranspiration
in the north, which inevitably introduces errors into the drought
monitoring results.
0.30

295
295
290
290
36
37
36
37
2008-5-18
2008-5-18

NDVI

299

306
306
304
304
302
302
300
300
298
298
296
296

NDVI
NDVI
LST
LST

300

0.10
0.10
0.08
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.04
0.04
0.02
0.02
0.00
0.00

NDVI
NDVI
LST
LST

LST

301

NDVI
NDVI

302

38
38

Latitude
Latitude

LST
LST

39
39

NDVI
NDVI

0.00
0 00
40

Latitude

Figure 3. Temporal and spatial variation of NDVI and LST (K).

Table 1. Parabolic fitting equations of LST and latitude for each

day.
Date

Equations

R2

3-7
3-15
3-26
4-28
5-4
5-18
5-28

y = -0.6553x2 + 49.724x - 642.51

y = -1.265x2 + 97.49x - 1574.8
y = -0.8702x2 + 66.274x - 957.64
y = -0.5114x2 + 39.824x - 471.58
y = -1.3201x2 + 101.19x - 1637.6
y = -1.8525x2 + 142.02x - 2417.7
y = -1.7173x2 + 131.25x - 2196.3

0.6586
0.8139
0.2396
0.4264
0.7911
0.5456
0.585

Latitude of
turning point
37.94
38.53
38.08
38.94
38.33
38.33
38.21

Where y is LST, and x is latitude.

phenological stages of winter wheat, such as greenup, heading

stage and maturity, are delayed with the increase in latitude from
south to north. The three phenological stages of winter wheat in
the south could be 8-16 days earlier than that in the north, which
caused a higher values of NDVI in the south.
NDVI in the south was significantly higher than that in the
north on March 7. With an increase of latitude, NDVI gradually
reduced and remained stable at latitudes greater than N37.5. This
shows that the phenological stage of winter wheat in the south
had been at greenup, and the growth of the crop, at that stage,
increased NDVI. The phenological stage of winter wheat in the
north was still in the rest period and its NDVI was lower. With the
rise in temperature and the growth of wheat, the NDVI in the north
increased gradually but was still less than that of the south. By
the end of April, there is little difference between the NDVI of the
south and the north, and the NDVI was basically the same
throughout the region on the May 18. In Fig. 3, the NDVI in the
vicinity of N38 showed a small peak. This is because the area is
a high-yielding region for wheat. Soil and water condition are
more suitable for the growth of wheat.
Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (3&4), July-October 2010

Surface temperature correction in the TVDI method: The errors

introduced by air temperature changes along latitude gradients
should be removed. In this paper, remote sensing data on March
7, as an example, were used for drought monitoring using TVDI
with the correction of LST. The fitting equations for surface
temperature and latitude show (Fig. 5) that LST begin to decrease
after the turning point. Therefore, LST of the sub-regions to the
north of the turning point should be corrected.
Linear regression was conducted using LST and latitude where
the latitude is greater than the turning point. As shown in Fig. 5,
LST decreased 0.9431K when latitude increased 1 degree. LST
can be corrected using the following equation.
LST =

LST

L < 37.94

LST + (L - 37.94) * 0.9431

(8)

L 37.94
1143

285

11

290
290
285
285
280
280
275
275
270
270

285
285

10 cm and 10-20 cm were more

significant than that at 40-50 cm
280
280
depth. TVDI can provide a better
275
reflection of shallow soil moisture.
270
275
275
The comparison of the TVDI
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
before and after the correction of
Latitude
Latitude
Latitude
295
LST showed that the relationship
295
300
5
295
295
6
4
between TVDI and soil relative
4
5
6
290
290
290
290
290
humidity was improved after the
285
285
280
285
correction. It means the
285
correction of LST in the northern
280
280
270
280
280
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
area reduced the impact on TVDI
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
36
37 Latitude
38
39
40
Latitude
caused by the air temperature
Latitude
Latitude
7
300
drop and improved the
305
300
305
300
9 9
8 8
7
relationship between TVDI and
300
295
300
295
295
295
soil relative humidity in the
295
290
290
290
290
290
whole region. To show the
285
285
285
285
285
influence of LST correction on
280
280
280
280
280
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
36
37
38
39
40
TVDI, TVDI (with and without
Latitude
Latitude
Latitude
correction), and soil relative
humidity in the sub-regions north
Figure 4. March-May air temperatures (K) at different latitudes of the study area.
Note: 1,2,3,...9 corresponds to the first 10 days, second 10 days and third 10 (11) days for March, April and May.
of the turning point (N37.94)
are shown in Figs 8 and 9. LST
301
y = -0.9431x + 336.57
corrections
reduced
the
impact
of
air temperature greatly and made
2 2 = 0.6603
301
= 0.6603
R R
the TVDI and soil relative humidity correlation improved. Precision
300
of drought monitoring using the TVDI method was increased.
300
299
The fact that the correlations between TVDI and soil relative
299
humidity
in 40-50 cm soil shown in Figs 6 and 7 are better than that
37.5
38
38.5
39
39.5
40
shown in Figs 8 and 9 indicates that TVDI provides a better
Latitude
reflection of the humidity of deeper soil in the southern region.
Figure 5. The fitting of LST with latitudes north of
This may be related to the early phenological stage of the southern
the turning point (N37.94) on March 7 2008.
crops. The roots of crops in the south can use the water in the
deep soil. However, the later phenological stage of crops in the
where LST is the surface temperature after correction and L is
north means they can only use the water in the shallow soil.
latitude.
Therefore, TVDI is related to the amount of water available to
Two TVDI of the whole region were calculated using NDVI and
crops.
LST before and after correction. To compare the effects of
The TVDI and LST calculated by NOAA data in 2006 and 2007
correction, the results were compared with ground soil moisture
in the same area were analyzed using the methods in this paper.
observation data (Figs 6 and 7).
The same outcomes as reported for 2008 were found. However,
Figs 6 and 7 show there were certain correlations between those
there was not a parabolic relationship between LST and latitude
two TVDI and soil relative humidities at different soil depths. The
on some days. Analysis shows that this was caused by an abnormal
correlations between TVDI and relative humidity of the soil at 1change of weather.
22

Ta
T
a

Ta
Ta

Ta
Ta

Ta
Ta

LST

Ta

Ta

Ta
Ta

Ta

Ta
Ta

280

R2 = 0.1817
2

0.0

25

50
75
0-10 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

0.0
0.0

100

R22= 0.1203

R = 0.12

0.5
0.5

0.5
0.5

0.5

y = -0.0055x
+ 0.9363
y = -0.0055x
+ 0.93

R = 0.1817

R = 0.2139

TVDI
TVDI

TVDI

y =-0.0067x
-0.0067x++0.9818
0.9818 1.0
y=
1.0

1.0
1.0

R2 = 0.2139
2

TVDI
TVDI

y = -0.0069x
-0.0069x++0.9488
0.9488

1.0

25

50

75

0.0
0.0

100

40

10-20 cm Soil relative

humidity (%)

60
80
100
40-50 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

Figure 6. Comparison of TVDI and soil relative moisture.

R = 0.2896

0.5

1.0
1.0
TVDI
TVDI

TVDI

R = 0.2896
2

0.0
25

50
75
0-10 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

100

y = -0.0061x
+ 0.9343 1.0
y = -0.0061x
+ 0.9343
1.0
R2 =2 0.2255

0.5
0.5

0 0.0
0 25

y = -0.0046x
+ 0.8619
y = -0.0046x
+ 0.8619
2

R = 0.2255

2R

= 0.1227

R = 0.1227

TVDI
TVDI

y =-0.0066x
-0.0066x++ 0.9193
0.9193
y=
2

1.0

0.5
0.5

50
75
10-20 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

100

0 0.0
0 40

60
80
100
40-50 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

Figure 7. Comparison of temperature-adjusted TVDI and soil relative moisture.

1144

Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.8 (3&4), July-October 2010

R = 0.221

0.5
0.0

25

50
75
0-10 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

y = -0.0061x + 0.9442

1.01.0

R = 0.1537

0.50.5
0.00.0

100

25

50

75

y = -0.0053x + 0.9238

1.0
1.0

y = -0.006x
0.9442
R2 =+0.1537

TVDI
TVDI

TVDI

TVDI
TVDI

y = -0.0064x + 0.9208

y = -0.0064x
+ 0.9208
R2 = 0.221

1.0

100

y = -0.0053xR+2 =0.9236
0.095
2

R = 0.095

0.5
0.5

0.0
0.0

40

10-20 cm Soil relative

humidity (%)

60
80
100
40-50 cm Soil relative
humidity (%)

Figure 8. Comparison of TVDI and soil relative moisture north to N37.94.

R = 0.3142

0.5
0.0
25

50

75

y = -0.0061x + 0.934

1.0
1.0

y = -0.0061x
+ 0.934
R2 = 0.2313
2

100

R = 0.2313

0.5
0.5
0.0
0.0

25

0-10 cm Soil relative

humidity (%)

50

75

y = -0.0044x + 0.8473

1.0

1.0

y = -0.0044x R
+2 0.8473
= 0.0931
2

TVDI
TVDI

y = -0.0063x + 0.9007

y = -0.0063x
+ 0.9007
R2 = 0.3142

TVDI
TVDI

TVDI

1.0

100

R = 0.0931

0.5
0.5
0.0
0.0

40

10-20 cm Soil relative

humidity (%)

60

80

100

40-50 cm Soil relative

humidity (%)

Figure 9. Comparison of temperature-adjusted TVDI and soil relative moisture north to N37.94.

Conclusions
Based on a simple calculation method, without the assistance of
ground-based observations, TVDI has been widely used in
regional drought monitoring, especially in large areas. However,
the variations in climate across large-scale regions introduce
errors in the drought monitoring results obtained by the TVDI
method. Spatial and temporal variations of NDVI and LST in
different latitudes were analyzed in this paper. LST was affected
by the crop phenological stages and was affected by the crop
phenological stages and had a parabolic relationship with latitude.
The change of LST was partly caused by a decline of air
temperature. Corrections were applied to the LST calculation in
the northern region by developing an equation between LST and
latitude using the linear fitting method. This increased the
accuracy of drought monitoring results using the TVDI method.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the financial support of
Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences
(KZCX2-YW-449) program and National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 40971025).

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