Long-term trends in photosynthetic capacity measured with the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are usually associated with climate change. Human impacts on the global land surface are typically not accounted for. Here, we provide the first global analysis quantifying the effect of the earth's human footprint on NDVI trends. Globally, more than 20% of the variability in NDVI trends was explained by
['Thomas Mueller', 'Gunnar Dressler', 'Compton J. Tucker', 'Jorge E. Pinzon', 'Peter Leimgruber', 'Ralph O. Dubayah', 'George C. Hurtt', 'Katrin Böhning-Gaese', 'William F. Fagan']
Human Land-Use Practices Lead to Global Long-Term Increases in Photosynthetic Capacity