Vegetation and Remote Sensing

Vegetation
Leaf-radiation interference Factors affecting reflectance Spectral signature Vegetation indices Leaf Area Index Global vegetation monitoring

Vegetation

Botanical Institute, BB209 H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation and RS
Inter- and intra-annual global vegetation monitoring on a periodic basis Global biogeochemical, climate and hydrological modeling Net primary production and carbon balance Anthropogenic and climate change detection Agricultural activities (plant stress, harvest yields, precision agriculture) Famine early warning systems Drought studies Landscape disturbance (volcanic, fire scars, etc.) Land cover and land cover change products Biophysical estimates of vegetation parameters (% cover, LAI, fAPAR) Public health issues (rift valley fever, mosquito producing rice fields )

The plant leaf

Vegetation interferes with sunlight in several ways in areas of high vegetation density the leaf is the most characteristic and influential component of this interference highly specialised structure adapted to photosynthetic activity
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Ability to map the presence, amount, type, condition etc. of vegetation

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The Plant Leaf

four different layers
upper and lower epidermis
stomatal cells, secures gas exchange (CO2, O2) largely transparent to incident Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR; 0.4-0.7m).

Leaf reflectance
The function (photosynthesis) and structure of the leaf generate a special spectral signature

a layer of elongated parenchymatic cells

chloroplasts do the solar energy absorption

Chlorophyll absorption

a layer of spongy mesophyllic cells

large air filled volumes predominate between cells hydrated mesophyll cells contribute water to photosynthesis
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Schematic cross section of typical citrus leaf (after Harris 1987)

Leaf reflectance
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Leaf reflectance
Three zones in leaf reflectance spectrum 1. PAR, high absorption (sub-regions a-c)

Leaf reflectance
2. near-IR (0,74-1,1m)
reflectance very high/ absorption minimal scattering amplifies the spectral reflectance, especially for dense canopies. 0,79-0,90 m avoids atmospheric water vapour absorption most appropriate for monitoring vegetation reflectance can reach fifty per cent on the IR plateau level of IR plateau depends on the internal structure of the leaf. The level increases with the number of layers of cells, their size and the orientation of cell walls (Guyot and Riom 1988) high absorption due to the liquid water of the mesophyllic cells.

very high leaf absorption (pigments of chlorophyll a and b & caretenoids in the chloroplasts) Red wavelengths (0,62-0,70 m) strongest contrast to soil reflection due to high chlorophyll absorption.
high scatter of the PAR give pigments multiple chances to absorb the active wavelengths

High scatter is due mainly to differences in the refractive index between the air spaces (1.0), hydrated cells (1.4), and the irregular facets of the exteriors of cells

3. mid-IR ( 1.3-2.5 m)

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Leaf reflectance
soil reflectance
visible and near-IR: increases steadily over wavelengths; mid-IR: oscillates like, but above reflectance from vegetation.

RGB color composite

A multi-spectral, optical satellite image is usually displayed as a false colour composite of three layers
Blue layer: green channel green layer: red channel red layer: IR channel

best regions to obtain vegetation information separately from background information

Red (LOW) and the near-IR (HIGH) (0,79-0,90 m) closely connected to chlorophyll density and green leaf density respectively (Tucker and Sellers 1986).

RED
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NIR

this combination of high values in the red layer and low values in the green layer gives vegetation a red colour.

SPOT XS, july 1986

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Vegetation indices
quantitative measurements indicating vigour of vegetation Better sensitivity than ind. Spectral bands for detection of biomass Ideal VI: the index should be particularly sensitive to vegetative covers, insensitive to soil brightness, insensitive to soil color, little affected by atmospheric effects, environmental effects and solar illumination geometry and sensor viewing conditions (Jackson et al., 1983) I.e. Other factors than leaf reflectance are of importance!
Biological domain/internal Physical domain/external

Biological domain
several other parameters can change vegetation canopy reflectance even if the leaf hemispherical reflectance remains constant, or vice versa (Colwell, 1974) Optical properties of vegetation
Indivdual level Species level Physiognomy and phenology Temporal changes
Water content, age, mineral deficiency, parasitic attacks,

VI Vegetation parameter VI Vegetation parameter

RED

NIR

SAVI
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Vegetation canopy reflectance

Leaf vs. Canopy
Layers of leaves; size, orientation, shape, coverage of ground surface shadowing within layers and canopy Shadowing reduces reflectance, reduction relatively lower in NIR than RED
Related to transmittance!

Vegetation canopy reflectance

2. Leaf area and orientation
A change
smaller leaves or more vertical orientation of the leaves

1. Leaf hemispherical transmittance: Refl

correlated to hemispherical reflectance of leaves Red is positively correlated IR is negatively correlated

red NIR trans

might increase Red and decrease near-IR reflectance, making vegetation approach the soil reflectance curve. These parameters are important at the individual level.

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation canopy reflectance

3. Hemispherical reflectance and transmittance of supporting structures (stalk, trunks, limbs, petioles):
Guyot and Riom (1988) have studied the reflectance of bark on spruce. The reflectance increases progressively from visible to mid-IR and resembles soil reflectance. When the density (of needles) is low, the effect of bark reflectance is particularly sensitive in the near-IR and mid-IR (Guyot and Riom 1988).

Vegetation canopy reflectance

The red shift Maturation induced change of the chlorophyll absorption edge toward longer wavelengths Red transition zone Complex causes: conc. of chlorophyll change in molecular structure absorption bands added

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation canopy reflectance

Senescence Deterioration of cell walls in the mesophyll tissue decline in NIR reflectance Accompanying increase in visible reflectance decline in abundance and effectiveness of chlorophyll

Physical domain/external
Atmosphere
Uniform surface and atmosphere without clouds
NIR darkening of bright surface
Scattering and water vapor absorption (20%)

RED brightening dark surface

Added path radiance

Same effect as turbidity!

Critical surface reflectance (radiance vs. Optical thickness) Aerosol scattering (0.04-0.20 unit decrease in NDVI), water vapor (0.040.08) and Rayleigh scattering (0.020.04)

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Background
Effective background reflectance:
Its importance increases as coverage becomes thinner; aridity, agriculture, LAI below 2 Difficult to extract vegetation information for coverages below 30% (hutchinson, 1989) resolution! Brightness
shadowing, texture, material, wetness Soil line

Angular effects
Three angles are important for the registered reflectance effects are inter-related
solar zenith angle: angle between the direction of incident sunlight and the vertical line from nadir to zenith look angle: angle between the sensor and the vertical line from nadir to zenith

Color
Width of soil line

The effect is local

azimuth angle: angle between the planes defined by solar zenith and look angle

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Angular effects
The solar zenith angle changes daily and seasonally. point of insensitivity:
When vegetation coverage rises beyond a certain threshold, the reflectance is saturated and thus insensitive to a further increase in coverage varies with the solar zenith- and look-angles look-angle 0 (nadir viewing) & increasing zenith angle: the point of insensitivity is at a lesser coverage (the same reflectance is registered for vegetation coverages that it was possible to distinguish with a smaller zenith angle). The same trend is seen if the solar zenith angle is kept constant and the look angle increases
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Angular effects
a The sensitivity of the IR band is greater than that of the Red band. effects of the azimuth and lookangles has to be considered together:
azimuth is 90 (b), a change in lookangle gives a symmetrical spectral response around the nadir axis. However, the symmetry is different for visible and IR wavelengths. azimuth is 180 (c), looking up-sun, gives a lower reflectance than when looking down-sun, i.e. when the azimuth is 0 (a) (Colwell 1974, Guyot and Riom 1988)

a b

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Vegetation canopy reflectance

pixel size
High spatial resolution better reflects the diversity of the environment monitored, while increasing the pixel size better catches the homogeneity of the environment. Observed variability is reduced as the pixel size increases.

Spectral signature

Greeness and openess of vegetation high VI Internal variation hetereogenity of veg type Age, height, density etc.
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Vegetation indices, VI
VI Vegetation highlight vegetation Integrative functions of canopy, structural (% cover, LAI, LAD) and physiological (pigments, photosynthesis) parameters Soil line Water
The tasseled cap of the IR-red dataspace (data are extracted from a mid-summer MSS data-set from Western Norway)

Red IR scatterdiagram tasseled cap; high IR and low Red VI = mathematical combination of these bands

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

R-NIR Feature Space

Sudan MSS-1 09/29/72 path 183 row 48 Egypt MSS-2 04/14/79 path 186 row 43

R-NIR Feature Space

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation indices

Vegetation indices
Several VI exists Amplify vegetation by normalising data/ topographic effects Amount of data reduced Categorisation different schemes

Agricultural crops observed throughout growing season

Wide range of land surface cover types, Landsat TM

High vegetation cover, lowest red and highest IR; RED sensitivity

Difference indices Ratio indices Orthogonal indices Complex combinations

First generation (Bannari et al. 1995) second generation (Bannari et al. 1995)

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation indices
Difference indices = IR Red; vegetation high positive values Ratio indices = IR/Red
Variations on this simple ratio Adding constants, squaring, square root etc. to normalise (positive values, 0-1) All produce lines radiating out from an origo; equal value on this line + Normalisation good (varying soil and irradiance conditions) - overestimation over dark soil

Vegetation indices
Orthogonal indices
Soil line; soil/background plots on single line Vegetation emerges orthogonally Axis of variation by
Linear regression PCA Gram-Schmidt orthogonalisation

1. Axis = soil line (IR=aR+b) 2. Axis = vegetation cover

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

First generation VI

First generation VI

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation indices
Linear combinations Not considering - Exterior factors or soil-vegetation interactions Designed for specific sensors and applications Interpretation distinct differences between ratio and orthogonal indices BUT small differences seen between studies applying one or another VI! Perry and Lautenschlager (1984) Discussing 48 diff. VIs functional equivalence

Vegetation indices
Vi= IR R

IR

Red
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Second generation VI
Based on knowledge of physical phenomena
Interaction between EM radiation, atmosphere, vegetative cover and soil background

Second generation VI

Generally based on reflectance values, corrected for sensor calibration and atmospheric effects NDVI most widely used, reference for evaluating new indices

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

PVI
400,00 350,00 300,00 250,00 200,00 150,00 100,00 50,00 0,00 -50,00 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Serie1

PVI - model

Soil line y=ax+b A and b from regression non-vegetation file/interpretation of scatterdiagram

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PVI=(NIR-aR-b)/ (SQRT(a**2+1))

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PVI

Vegetation isolines
Pairs of RED and NIR
representing equal amounts of a particular vegetation parameter changing the optical properties of the background fixed Leaf Area Index (LAI ) and Leaf Angle Distribution (LAD) constant external conditions

Represent the true behavior of a constant vegetation condition against a wide range of canopy background conditions

Vegetation Index invariant to background: vegetation isolines = vegetation index isolines!

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Vegetation isolines
Plot of the vegetation points with the SAIL model (marks) for various LAI and soil reflectance and the NDVI isolines (dotted lines). (Huete el al, 1999)

Vegetation isolines
Vegetation isoline equations Simulations (SAIL) can help understanding optical properties of vegetation and to develop better/more resistant VIs Background/soil reflectance (red) 0.05, 0.2 and 0.35: increasing brightness Vegetation isolines do not include soil reflectance!
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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

NDVI

SAVI

Leaf Area Index, LAI

Amount of foliage per unit ground surface area / one half the total green leaf area per unit ground area (1.28 2)
Optical instruments response

Indirect LAI estimation

Deterministic or stochastic canopy radiation models
Homogenous canopies

Empirical spectral vegetation indices (SVI)

RED, NIR, MIR/SWIR (TM3, 4, 5) RED and MIR; strong inverse curvilinear relationship (absorption pigments and water content)

A driving biophysical variable Input to models; hydrological, ecological, climate Varies with plant/tree species, mean annual temperature, length of season, water supply and stock age Range 0 16, maximum reached in evergreen forests at western coast of USA Quantification
directly/indirectly in field Indirectly relationship to surface reflectance and therefore SVI

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Indirect LAI estimation

NIR low LAI inverse relationship, high LAI positive relationship (veg. Cover + shadowing)

LAI - SVI
Several SVIs related to LAI
Red/NIR combinations (NDVI, SR, SAVI)
Turner et al. 1999
Atmospheric and topographic correction Optimal relation depends on vegetation type and density

SVI LAI relation

Understory and background influences Saturation of SVI at LAI 3-5: vegetation with LAI > 3-5 occupy 1/3 of terrestrial land surface!

Huete et al. 1997

NDVI faPAR SARVI LAI

Brown et al. Xxxx

SAVI < SR

Chen and Cihlar, 1996

NDVI ~ SR background problems

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Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

LAI SVI
SVIs including MIR band
Similar reflectance across backgrounds Larger sensitivity to LAI Including MIR performs better than equivalent SVIs without MIR (Boyd et al. 2000, Brown et al. 2000, Nemani et al. 1993, Spanner et al. 1990)

LAI

Texture stronger relation!

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Global vegetation monitoring

AVHRR (NASA) daily global coverage
Global Area Coverage
4km resolution transmitted daily

Global vegetation monitoring

AVHRR applications
Observe major ecological zones and seasonal changes Crop phenology and agricultural practices in the Nile Delta (tucker et al. 1984) Desertification Long term trends (onset of spring etc.)

Local Area Coverage

Full resolution 1,1km at nadir Selected regions (receiving station)

Global Vegetation Index, since 1982!

From GAC, 7 days composites of highest values (clouds, atmosphere) NDVI, 15 km resolution

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Global vegetation monitoring

MODIS
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument Terra platform December 18th, 1999 (wide spectral range, moderate spatial resolution (250m 1km) and near daily global coverage The second MODIS is planned for launch on the Aqua platform in April 2002

MODIS VI
How are global ecosystems changing? What changes are occurring in global land cover and land use, and what are their causes? How do ecosystems respond to and affect global environmental change and the carbon cycle?

Products:
NDVI, Normalized Difference VI. Continuity index that will extend 20 years of AVHRR EVI, Enhanced Vegetation index
takes advantages of MODIS radiometric characteristics, corrected surface reflectance. expected to give improved sensitivity in high biomass regions and improved vegetation monitoring through a de-coupling of the canopy background signal and a reduction in atmosphere influences.

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

Botanical Institute, BB209 - H2002

September 2000

MODIS Leaf Area Index

December 2000

September 2000

MODIS faPAR
December 2000

April 2001

April 2001

0.5

0.9

LAI is defined as the one sided green leaf area per unit ground area in broadleaf canopies and as the projected needle leaf area in coniferous canopies.
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faPAR is defined as the fraction of incident photosynthetically active radiation (0.4 - 0.7 m) absorbed by the vegetation canopy.
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