Evaluating Parameter Adjustment in the MODIS Gross Primary Production Algorithm Based on Eddy Covariance Tower Measurements

Remote Sensing

Jing Chen¹  Huifang Zhang¹  Zirui Liu²  Mingliang Che¹ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System (LREIS), Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; E-Mails:;State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; E-Mail:

关键词: gross primary production;    MODIS;    parameter adjustment;    model structure;    light use efficiency;    eddy covariance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs6043321

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

How well parameterization will improve gross primary production (GPP) estimation using the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) algorithm has been rarely investigated. We adjusted the parameters in the algorithm for 21 selected eddy-covariance flux towers which represented nine typical plant functional types (PFTs). We then compared these estimates of the MOD17A2 product, by the MODIS algorithm with default parameters in the Biome Property Look-Up Table, and by a two-leaf Farquhar model. The results indicate that optimizing the maximum light use efficiency (ɛ_max) in the algorithm would improve GPP estimation, especially for deciduous vegetation, though it could not compensate the underestimation during summer caused by the one-leaf upscaling strategy. Adding the soil water factor to the algorithm would not significantly affect performance, but it could make the adjusted ɛ_max more robust for sites with the same PFT and among different PFTs. Even with adjusted parameters, both one-leaf and two-leaf models would not capture seasonally photosynthetic dynamics, thereby we suggest that further improvement in GPP estimaiton is required by taking into consideration seasonal variations of the key parameters and variables.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland