Estimation and Validation of RapidEye-Based Time-Series of Leaf Area Index for Winter Wheat in the Rur Catchment (Germany)

Remote Sensing

Muhammad Ali⁵  Carsten Montzka⁵  Anja Stadler¹  Gunter Menz³  Frank Thonfeld²  Harry Vereecken⁵  Clement Atzberger⁴ 

[1] Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 5, 53115 Bonn, Germany; E-Mail:;Centre for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL), University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 53115 Bonn, Germany; E-Mail:;Remote Sensing Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 166, 53115 Bonn, Germany; E-Mail:Agrosphere (IBG-3), Research Center Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany;;Agrosphere (IBG-3), Research Center Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany; E-Mails:

关键词: leaf area index;    red-edge band;    RapidEye;    atmospheric correction;    validation;    time-series;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs70302808

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is an important variable for numerous processes in various disciplines of bio- and geosciences. In situ measurements are the most accurate source of LAI among the LAI measuring methods, but the in situ measurements have the limitation of being labor intensive and site specific. For spatial-explicit applications (from regional to continental scales), satellite remote sensing is a promising source for obtaining LAI with different spatial resolutions. However, satellite-derived LAI measurements using empirical models require calibration and validation with the in situ measurements. In this study, we attempted to validate a direct LAI retrieval method from remotely sensed images (RapidEye) with in situ LAI (LAI_destr). Remote sensing LAI (LAI_rapideye) were derived using different vegetation indices, namely SAVI (Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Additionally, applicability of the newly available red-edge band (RE) was also analyzed through Normalized Difference Red-Edge index (NDRE) and Soil Adjusted Red-Edge index (SARE). The LAI_rapideye obtained from vegetation indices with red-edge band showed better correlation with LAI_destr (r = 0.88 and Root Mean Square Devation, RMSD = 1.01 & 0.92). This study also investigated the need to apply radiometric/atmospheric correction methods to the time-series of RapidEye Level 3A data prior to LAI estimation. Analysis of the the RapidEye Level 3A data set showed that application of the radiometric/atmospheric correction did not improve correlation of the estimated LAI with in situ LAI.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.