Vegetation strongly influences regional weather systems, as well as climate. In turn, weather affects vegetation through precipitation and energy regimes.
Northern vegetation is a potentially significant carbon sink.
Satellites launched by other countries collect these data and transmit the information to ground stations. These are further processed to remove residual noise, and thus enhance the vegetation information. Special analytical procedures convert the satellite measurements into variables describing the status of vegetation during the period of interest. This monitoring process continues throughout the growing season, providing a comprehensive picture of the growth and development of the various vegetation types. Since the start of the 1993 growing season, the Manitoba Remote Sensing Centre, under an agreement with NRCan, has been operating this system with data received by ground stations in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.