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Contemporary climate change has induced an urge to monitor and manage the forest ecosystems to maintain the carbon and energy balance of the system. For understanding the behavior of a forest, its productivity is the key. Monitoring a forest in terms of its productivity provides a holistic understanding of the response of the forest to external stimuli in form of climate change as well as change in its physiological processes. Productivity depends on the effectiveness of the various interlinked physiological processes indicating the climatic, anthropogenic, and geochemical influence on the biosphere. Himalayan ecosystem, one the most fragile ecosystems with home to large biodiversity, requires a clear understating of forest and its response to climatic variability. For assessing these responses, we conducted a study to examine the trend of net primary productivity (NPP) from 2002-2021 across the Western Himalayan region. Remotely sensed (NPP) data for the last 20 years at 500m spatial resolution have been acquired from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) using Google Earth Engine platform. All the analysis was carried out using R software and maps have been generated using ArcGIS software. The study area witnessed a positive trend throughout the study period. The annual average NPP increased from 3.18 Mg C ha-1yr-1 to 4.98 Mg C ha-1yr-1 from 2002-2021. Examining the spatial variations, we found NPP has increased in 88% of the total study area, whereas the rest of the area has experienced a decrease. Disintegrating the trend into different slope categories indicated that 88.22% of the area under 15°-30° slope show positive trend in NPP followed by 0-15 and 30-60 both having 86% area with a positive trend. Analysis revealed that a 15°-30° slope is most favorable for forest growth in terms of NPP.
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