To investigate the rainfall regime effects over the albedo, NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), net radiation and soil heat flux in a semiarid region (Northeast of Brazil), a study in the Trussu watershed was developed by using remote sensing. The study focuses on two images (Landsat 7 ETM+) provided by Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), from October 25, 2000 and July 24, 2001, each of them having a different rainfall regime (dry and wet seasons). The images were analyzed by using the SEBAL algorithm (surface energy balance algorithm for land). The results showed that the amount of rainfall affected the investigated variables, and the highest values of albedo were registered during the dry season. The NDVI presented high sensibility to rainfall regime, pointing out a high vegetation potential recover during the rainfall season. The NDVI along the Trussu River was up to 0.39, expressing the repair zone preservation. The watershed vegetation showed a high resilience power expressed by NDVI values in the year of 2001. Net radiation and soil heat flux were greater in the dry season, in this way expressing the effect of humidity on the energy balance.
albedo; NDVI; remote sensing; net radiation
