Spatiotemporal dynamics and climatic factors affecting net primary productivity in niger river basin, from 2000 to 2020

Net primary productivity is an essential measure of plant biology and the net flow of carbon between the atmosphere and the terrestrial environment. This aids in comprehending how much carbon is fixed by terrestrial plants and the factors that affect it, thus requiring a thorough grasp of net primary productivity dynamics and how they interact with the climate in arid and humid regions. This study applied remote sensing techniques to evaluate the spatial distribution and climatic variables of the net primary productivity in the Niger River Basin, using the Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach model and correlation analysis. The study revealed that the net primary productivity fell from 338.18 gC/m2 in 2000 to 334.44 gC/m2 in 2020. The correlation result shows that while precipitation (R2=0.87) and actual evapotranspiration (R2=0.83) revealed a positive correlation, temperature (R2=0.328), solar radiation (R2=0.585), and potential evapotranspiration (R2=0.78) shows a negative correlation with the net primary productivity. The study shows that precipitation has a major influence on changes in the net primary production of the NRB. The results of the study may help to better understand how climate studies affect environmental ecology while recommending policymakers to safeguard the Niger River Basin from activities that can deteriorate the environment.