## 3 Results  
### Seasonal Reflectance Differences between Pasture Degradation Classes  
Examination of false color composites from SuperDove imagery has revealed initial challenges in distinguishing between classes of pasture degradation during the dry season in the Cerrado region. Notably, an increase in NPV towards the dry season (DOY 227 in Figure 4) has posed difficulties in differentiating non-degraded pastures (NDP) from biologically degraded areas (SBD) characterized by high soil exposure. Consequently, the transition from the rainy to the dry season has led NDP plots to shift in color from orange (DOY 62) to cyan (DOY 227) in the false color composites (Figure 4). This shift is attributed to the spectral reflectance similarity between NPV and soil, and to the increasing amounts of NPV towards the dry season. Conversely, a reverse color pattern was observed with the onset of a new rainy cycle in October and November, marked by the prevalence of reddish shades in NDP plots (DOY 324 in Figure 4).  
The observed pattern in the SuperDove color composites was corroborated through the analysis of the seasonal average reflectance in 2022 for the field-visited plots. Differences between pasture degradation classes were more pronounced during the rainy season than in the dry season, as illustrated in Figure 5a,b with the red and NIR bands 6 and 8, respectively. The transition from the rainy to the dry season (May to June) and the beginning of a new seasonal cycle between September and October emerged as particularly suitable periodsfor effectively distinguishing between these classes. In the SuperDove red band, the class most effectively discriminated was SBD during the transition from the rainy to the dry season (and vice versa). This discrimination was attributed to the substantial soil exposure sensed by the satellite constellation during this period. In contrast to the increase in red reflectance (Figure 5a), a decrease in NIR reflectance was consistently observed over SBD plots throughout most of the seasonal cycle (Figure 5b).  
When we considered the reflectance of the eight SuperDove bands collectively to calculate the Mahalanobis distance between pairs of classes, the most significant spectral distances for discriminating between SAD and LID, as well as between SAD and MID, were noted at the onset of June (DOY 153 in Figure 6). Consistent with the pattern depicted in Figures 4 and 5, the second most substantial distance between these classes occurred at the beginning of the rainy season (new seasonal cycle) in October (DOY 273). Conversely, the smallest spectral distances between pairs of classes were observed in the middle of the dry season in July (DOY 227 in Figure 6). During this period, the reflectance of the SuperDove bands was predominantly influenced by the presence of non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) over the pasture plots.  
Figure 4: False color composites generated from SuperDove imagery, illustrating visual distinctions between plots of biologically degraded (SBD) and non-degraded (NDP) pastures across various seasonal stages. Notable time points include the rainy season (DOY 62 and 324 in (**a**,**e**)), the transition from the rainy to the dry season (DOY 153 in (**b**)), the middle of the dry season (DOY 227 in (**c**)), and the transition from the dry to the rainy season (DOY 273 in (**d**)). SuperDove bands 8 (NIR), 7 (red-edge) and 6 (red) are shown in red, green and blue colors, respectively.  
Figure 5: Seasonal variations in mean reflectance for both (**a**) red and (**b**) near-infrared (NIR) bands (SuperDove bands 6 and 8) across different pasture degradation classes. The symbols within the profiles denote data acquisition in 2022 through the satellite constellation. Class abbreviations are defined in the text.