Quantification winter wheat LAI with HJ-1CCD image features over multiple growing seasons

Remote sensing images are widely used to map leaf area index (LAI) continuously over landscape. The objective of this study is to explore the ideal image features from Chinese HJ-1 A/B CCD images for estimating winter wheat LAI in Beijing. Image features were extracted from such images over four seasons of winter wheat growth, including five vegetation indices (VIs), principal components (PC), tasseled cap transformations (TCT) and texture parameters. The LAI was significantly correlated with the near-infrared reflectance band, five VIs [normalized difference vegetation index, enhanced vegetation index (EVI), modified nonlinear vegetation index (MNLI), optimization of soil-adjusted vegetation index, and ratio vegetation index], the first principal component (PC1) and the second TCT component (TCT2). However, these image features cannot significantly improve the estimation accuracy of winter wheat LAI in conjunction with eight texture measures. To determine the few ideal features with the best estimation accuracy, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and variable importance in projection (VIP) were applied to predict LAI values. Four remote sensing features (TCT2, PC1, MNLI and EVI) were chosen based on VIP values. The result of leave-one-out cross-validation demonstrated that the PLSR model based on these four features produced better result than the ten features’ model, throughout the whole growing season. The results of this study suggest that selecting a few ideal image features is sufficient for LAI estimation.     

Comparison of vegetation indices for practicable homology

Vegetation indices are widely used to assess quantitatively the biophysical characteristics of vegetation from remote sensing measurements. Different indices have their own advantages in retrieving vegetation information. It is very difficult to precisely attribute any vegetation index to any particular vegetation biophysical parameter. This study examines the correlations among different vegetation indices derived from a set of mustard, gram and wheat fields at three different phenological growth stages. The results are presented as correlation matrices along with correlation scatter plots. Homologous (equi-magnitude) vegetation information is represented by NDVI, PVI and AtRVI for wheat crop with leaf area index less than 1.     

Leaf to canopy upscaling approach affects the estimation of canopy traits

In remote sensing applications, leaf traits are often upscaled to canopy level using sunlit leaf samples collected from the upper canopy. The implicit assumption is that the top of canopy foliage material dominates canopy reflectance and the variability in leaf traits across the canopy is very small. However, the effect of different approaches of upscaling leaf traits to canopy level on model performance and estimation accuracy remains poorly understood. This is especially important in short or sparse canopies where foliage material from the lower canopy potentially contributes to the canopy reflectance. The principal aim of this study is to examine the effect of different approaches when upscaling leaf traits to canopy level on model performance and estimation accuracy using spectral measurements (in-situ canopy hyperspectral and simulated Sentinel-2 data) in short woody vegetation. To achieve this, we measured foliar nitrogen (N), leaf mass per area (LMA), foliar chlorophyll and carbon together with leaf area index (LAI) at three vertical canopy layers (lower, middle and upper) along the plant stem in a controlled laboratory environment. We then upscaled the leaf traits to canopy level by multiplying leaf traits by LAI based on different combinations of the three canopy layers. Concurrently, in-situ canopy reflectance was measured using an ASD FieldSpec-3 Pro FR spectrometer, and the canopy traits were related to in-situ spectral measurements using partial least square regression (PLSR). The PLSR models were cross-validated based on repeated k-fold, and the normalized root mean square errors (nRMSE_cv) obtained from each upscaling approach were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Results of the study showed that leaf-to-canopy upscaling approaches that consider the contribution of leaf traits from the exposed upper canopy layer together with the shaded middle canopy layer yield significantly (p < 0.05) lower error (nRMSE_cv < 0.2 for canopy N, LMA and carbon) as well as high explained variance (R² > 0.71) for both in-situ hyperspectral and simulated Sentinel-2 data. The widely-used upscaling approach that considers only leaf traits from the upper illuminated canopy layer yielded a relatively high error (nRMSE_cv>0.2) and lower explained variance (R² < 0.71) for canopy N, LMA and carbon. In contrast, canopy chlorophyll upscaled based on leaf samples collected from the upper canopy and total canopy LAI exhibited a more accurate relationship with spectral measurements compared with other upscaling approaches. Results of this study demonstrate that leaf to canopy upscaling approaches have a profound effect on canopy traits estimation for both in-situ hyperspectral measurements and simulated Sentinel-2 data in short woody vegetation. These findings have implications for field sampling protocols of leaf traits measurement as well as upscaling leaf traits to canopy level especially in short and less foliated vegetation where leaves from the lower canopy contribute to the canopy reflectance.     

Analysis of Spectral Vegetation Signal Characteristics as a Function of Soil Moisture Conditions Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

The assessment and quantification of spatio-temporal soil characteristics and moisture patterns are important parameters in the monitoring and modeling of soil landscapes. Remote-sensing techniques can be applied to characterize and quantify soil moisture patterns, but only when dealing with bare soil. For soils with vegetation, it is only possible to quantify soil-moisture characteristics through indirect vegetation indicators, i.e. the “vitality” of plants. The “vitality” of vegetation is a sum of many indicators, whereby different stress factors can induce similar changes to the biochemical and physiological characteristics of plants. Analysis of the cause and effect of soil-moisture properties, patterns and stress factors can therefore only be carried out using an experimental approach that specifically separates the causes. The study describes an experimental approach and the results from using an imaging hyperspectral sensor AISA-EAGLE (400–970 nm) and a non-imaging spectral sensor ASD (400–2,500 nm) under controlled and comparable conditions in a laboratory to study the spectral response compared to biochemical and biophysical vegetation parameters (“vitality”) as a function of soil moisture characteristics over the entire blooming period of Ash trees. At the same time that measurements were taken from the hyperspectral sensors, the following vegetation variables were also recorded: leaf area index (LAI), chlorophyll meter value — SPAD-205, vegetation height, C/N content and leaf water content as indicators of the “vitality” and the state of the vegetation. The spectrum of each hyperspectral image was used to calculate a range of vegetation indices (VI’s) with relationships for soil moisture characteristics and stress factors. The relationship between vegetation indices and plant “vitality” indicators was analysed using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). The results show that leaf water content is the most appropriate vegetation indicator for assessing the “vitality” of vegetation. With the Water Index (WI) it was possible to differentiate between the moisture treatments of the control, moisture drought stress and the moisture flooding treatment over the entire growing season of the plants (R ²?=?0.94). There is a correlation between the “vitality” vegetation parameters (LAI, C/N content and vegetation height) and the indicators NDVI, WI, PRI and Vog2. In our study with Ash trees the vegetation parameter chlorophyll was found not to be a suitable indicator for detecting the “vitality” of plants using the spectral indicators. There is a possibility that the sensitivity of the indicators selected was too low compared to changes in the chlorophyll content of Ash trees. Adding the co-variable ‘time’ strengthens the correlation, whereas incorporating time and moisture treatment only improves the model very slightly. This shows that changes to the biochemical and biophysical characteristics caused by phenology, overlay a differentiation of the moisture treatments.     

激光雷达和点云切片算法结合的森林有效叶面积指数估算

叶面积指数(LAI)是定量模拟和刻画植被冠层结构、生理过程以及研究森林生态系统碳水循环中物质和能量交换的重要生物物理参数之一。定量分析林冠元素的3维空间分布是准确估算森林叶面积指数的重要基础和关键步骤。本文利用地面激光雷达扫描系统(TLS),获取了不同树种、密度、年龄和空间分布的森林3维点云数据,利用"径向半球点云切片"和"点云法向量重建"算法分别计算森林的角度孔隙率和消光系数,进而得到森林冠层的有效叶面积指数。通过与利用传统光学仪器得到的结果比较发现:单站半球式激光雷达扫描得到森林样方尺度的结果与LAI-2200和数字半球摄影观测所得结果的相关性分别为R2=0.7084(N=9,p0.01)和0.7409(N=14,p0.01)。通过角度分辨率(LBA)和角度孔隙率(AGF)的敏感性分析,建议径向半球切片算法的角度分辨率应参考中心单站TLS半球式扫描所设置的采样间距。本文所采用的径向半球切片算法可以有效地利用单站半球式扫描所获取的3维点云进行森林冠层有效叶面积指数的定量估算。     

水稻叶片最优叶肉结构参数估算

叶片作为植物冠层的基本组成元素,其自身的光学特性直接影响着遥感所能获得的植物冠层反射光谱。从原理上讲,叶片的光学特性不仅取决于其内部生化组分含量的多少,还与其物理结构密切相关。因此对叶片内部物理结构进行估算有助于分离其对叶片光谱的影响,从而提高叶片生化信息反演的精度。在基于叶片内部辐射传输过程的PROSPECT模型中,叶片内部结构用一个假想的叶肉结构参数N来描述。PROSPECT模型模拟光谱发现,N对叶片反射率和透过率均影响显著,且影响范围涵盖400—2500nm的全部波段。本文利用水稻叶片实测光谱和生化数据尝试了3种N的估算方法,包括两种经验方法和一种模型反演方法,并对其进行比较。结果表明,由于两种经验方法都基于N和表观叶面积（SLA）之间的非线性经验公式,因此两者具有内在的数学关系。运用模型反演方法估算的N可在实测水稻光谱和模型模拟光谱间得到最小RMSE,且其在数值上小于两种经验方法的估算值。以N为因变量,叶片光谱反射率为自变量,运用逐步线性回归分析建立了N的光谱估算模型,550nm,816nm,1210nm和1722nm四个波段被选入模型,回归效果较好,为N的估算提供了一种新的经验方法。     

利用光谱反射率估算叶片生化组分和籽粒品质指标研究

对可见光至短波红外波段(350—2500nm)冬小麦田间冠层光谱反射率与叶片含氮量间的关系进行了相关分析。结果表明，820—1100nm波段的光谱反射率与叶片含氮量极显著正相关；1150—1300hm波段的光谱反射率与叶片含氮量显著正相关，以上两波段为叶片全氮的敏感波段。对各生育时期叶片全氮与其他生化组分的关系进行了回归分析，并建立了相关的回归方程，显著性检验结果表明，方程具有较高的可靠性。小麦的叶片含氮量可以估算其它生化组分及干物质指标含量，开花期叶片含氮量可用来估测籽粒蛋白质和干面筋等品质指标含量。     

Inversion of PROSAIL Model for Retrieval of Plant Biophysical Parameters

The current development of satellite technology particularly in the sensors like POLDER and MISR, has emphasized more on directional reflectance measurements (i.e. spectral reflectance of the target measured from different view zenith and azimuth angles) of the earth surface features mainly the vegetation for retrieval of biophysical parameters at regional scale using radiative transfer models. This approach being physical process based and uses directional reflectance measurement has been found to better and more reliable compared to the conventional statistical approach used till date and takes care of anisotropic nature (i.e. reflectance from the target is different if measured from different view angles) of the target. Keeping this in view a field experiment was conducted in mustard crop to evaluate the radiative transfer model for biophysical parameter retrieval through its inversion with the objectives set as (i) to relate canopy biophysical parameters and geometry to its bidirectional reflectance, (ii) to evaluate a canopy reflectance model to best represent the radiative transfer within the canopy for its inversion and (iii) to retrieve crop biophysical parameters through inversion of the model. Two varieties of the mustard crop (Brassica juncea L) were grown with two nitrogen treatments. The bidirectional reflectance data obtained at 5 nm interval for a range of 400–1100 nm were integrated to IRS LISS–II sensor’s four band values using Newton Cotes Integration technique. Biophysical parameters like leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf length, plant height and average leaf inclination angle, biomass etc were estimated synchronizing with the bi-directional reflectance measurements. Radiative transfer model PROSAIL model was validated and its inversion was done to retrieve LAI and ALA. Look Up Table (LUT) of Bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) was prepared simulating through PROSAIL model varying only LAI (0.2 interval from 1.2 to 5.4 ) and ALA (5° interval from 40° to 55°) parameters and inversion was done using a merit function and numerical optimization technique given by Press et al. (1986). The derived LAI and ALA values from inversion were well matched with observed one with RMSE 0.521 and 5.57, respectively.     

利用光谱反射率估算叶片生化组分和籽粒品质指标研究

对可见光至短波红外波段(350—2500nm)冬小麦田间冠层光谱反射率与叶片含氮量间的关系进行了相关分析。结果表明，820—1100nm波段的光谱反射率与叶片含氮量极显著正相关；1150—1300hm波段的光谱反射率与叶片含氮量显著正相关，以上两波段为叶片全氮的敏感波段。对各生育时期叶片全氮与其他生化组分的关系进行了回归分析，并建立了相关的回归方程，显著性检验结果表明，方程具有较高的可靠性。小麦的叶片含氮量可以估算其它生化组分及干物质指标含量，开花期叶片含氮量可用来估测籽粒蛋白质和干面筋等品质指标含量。     

Spectral behavior of Persian oak under compound stress of water deficit and dust storm

Persian oak (Quercus Brantii Lindl.) which is the most widely distributed tree in the Zagros Mountain forests is affected by western dust storms, mostly originating in Iraq, and harsh water stress as well. The objective of this research is to analyze the spectral behavior of Persian oak under water and dust stress scenarios, aiming to pave the way for modeling the stresses of drought and dust storms on oak trees using remote sensing images. Experiments were carried out on 54 two-year old oak tree seedlings, using a portable wind tunnel in greenhouse conditions. Water stress was induced on seedlings by means of changes in irrigation practices, i.e. well-watered (100 % field capacity), medium water deficit condition (40 % field capacity), and severe water deficit condition (20 % field capacity) treatments. Dust stress is also investigated by using three different dust particle concentrations, i.e. 350, 750 and 1500 (μg/m³). The spectrometry experiments were carried out at leaf and canopy levels in dark room by Fieldspec-3-ASD spectrometer. Spectral analysis was conducted using four procedures: (i) narrow-band spectral indices analysis, (ii) geometric indicators extraction from absorption features, (iii) Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), and SVM classifier. Results show that water stress could be modeled much better using PLSR statistic (R² = 0.87, RMSE = 0.12), narrow-band indices analysis (R²_cv = 0.75, RMSE_cv = 0.17), and continuum removal (R² = 0.71, RMSE = 0.20), respectively. For dust stress, PLSR (R² = 0.83, RMSE = 0.14) and narrow-band indices (R² _cv = 0.7, RMSE _cv = 0.30) showed the best results, respectively. SVM could successfully separate stressed and not-stressed samples and also the stress types at both leaf and canopy levels, but it could not distinguish the different levels of stresses.     

Characterization of Forest Crops with a Range of Nutrient and Water Treatments Using AISA Hyperspectral Imagery

This research examined the utility of Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for Applications (AISA) hyperspectral imagery for estimating the biomass of three forest crops—sycamore, sweetgum, and loblolly pine—planted in experimental plots with a range of fertilization and irrigation treatments on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. Both vegetation index (VI) and red-edge positioning (REP) approaches were investigated to estimate the biomass associated with 12 treatment conditions. The optimum band pairs using the VI approach for biomass estimation were located mainly in the visible, NIR, and/or water absorption region around 970 nm, depending on the treatment conditions. Both the selected hyperspectral variables (i.e., VI and REP) resulted in good performance for biomass estimation for a range of treatment conditions except for those associated with loblolly pine. The hyperspectral variables were also examined to determine if they were able to identify the optimum fertilization treatment level. For the fertilization treatment conditions with good biomass estimation (R ²0.9), their optimum treatment levels were successfully identified.     

Understanding the multi-seasonal spectral and biophysical characteristics of reedbed habitats in the UK

Reedbed in the UK has been classified as priority habitat for most regional Biodiversity Partnerships. However, critical information pertaining to the quality and spatial coverage of reedbed is currently lacking. This paper presents the results of a project conducted in collaboration with the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Environment Agency aimed at monitoring and understanding variations in the spectral reflectance and biophysical properties of reedbed canopies across Leighton Moss Nature Reserve in Lancashire, northwest England. Throughout the seasonal phenological cycle of the reedbed habitats in the study area, optimal spectral indices required for quantifying its biophysical properties were determined using field spectroscopy and ground-based measurements. Results of the experiment showed that the narrow-band-derived Difference Vegetation Index (DVI) and Renormalised Difference Vegetation Index (RDVI), with the correlation coefficient R² of 0.77 and 0.72, respectively, provided the most accurate estimates of the leaf area index for the reedbed canopies.     

Application of partial least squares regression and WetSpa model to determine factors controlling sediment yield in Chardavol watershed,Iran

This paper examines the effects of watershed complexity in terms of physiography and land use on the specific sediment yield of the Chardavol watershed (1012.946 km²) in Iran. First, specific sediment yield was simulated using spatially distributed hydrological WetSpa model, then the influential factors such as morphometric variables, land-use composition and pattern and soil properties of the watershed were calculated at the sub-watershed scale. Due to the inter-reliant of these watershed characteristics, a partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to illustrate the relationship between the specific sediment yield and data of 15 selected watershed characteristics. The results showed that the land-use composition and soil properties had the maximum effects on the specific sediment yield and clarified 79% of the variation in the specific sediment yield. Regarding the availability of digital spatial database over the watershed, this simple PLSR procedure could be applied in different watersheds.     

Gaussian processes uncertainty estimates in experimental Sentinel-2 LAI and leaf chlorophyll content retrieval

ESA’s upcoming Sentinel-2 (S2) Multispectral Instrument (MSI) foresees to provide continuity to land monitoring services by relying on optical payload with visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared sensors with high spectral, spatial and temporal resolution. This unprecedented data availability leads to an urgent need for developing robust and accurate retrieval methods, which ideally should provide uncertainty intervals for the predictions. Statistical learning regression algorithms are powerful candidats for the estimation of biophysical parameters from satellite reflectance measurements because of their ability to perform adaptive, nonlinear data fitting. In this paper, we focus on a new emerging technique in the field of Bayesian nonparametric modeling. We exploit Gaussian process regression (GPR) for retrieval, which is an accurate method that also provides uncertainty intervals along with the mean estimates. This distinct feature is not shared by other machine learning approaches. In view of implementing the regressor into operational monitoring applications, here the portability of locally trained GPR models was evaluated. Experimental data came from the ESA-led field campaign SPARC (Barrax, Spain). For various simulated S2 configurations (S2-10m, S2-20m and S2-60m) two important biophysical parameters were estimated: leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) and leaf area index (LAI). Local evaluation of an extended training dataset with more variation over bare soil sites led to improved LCC and LAI mapping with reduced uncertainties. GPR reached the 10% precision required by end users, with for LCC a NRMSE of 3.5–9.2% (r²: 0.95–0.99) and for LAI a NRMSE of 6.5–7.3% (r²: 0.95–0.96). The developed GPR models were subsequently applied to simulated Sentinel images over various sites. The associated uncertainty maps proved to be a good indicator for evaluating the robustness of the retrieval performance. The generally low uncertainty intervals over vegetated surfaces suggest that the locally trained GPR models are portable to other sites and conditions.     

Visualizing the ill-posedness of the inversion of a canopy radiative transfer model: A case study for Sentinel-2

Monitoring biophysical and biochemical vegetation variables in space and time is key to understand the earth system. Operational approaches using remote sensing imagery rely on the inversion of radiative transfer models, which describe the interactions between light and vegetation canopies. The inversion required to estimate vegetation variables is, however, an ill-posed problem because of variable compensation effects that can cause different combinations of soil and canopy variables to yield extremely similar spectral responses. In this contribution, we present a novel approach to visualise the ill-posed problem using self-organizing maps (SOM), which are a type of unsupervised neural network. The approach is demonstrated with simulations for Sentinel-2 data (13 bands) made with the Soil-Leaf-Canopy (SLC) radiative transfer model. A look-up table of 100,000 entries was built by randomly sampling 14 SLC model input variables between their minimum and maximum allowed values while using both a dark and a bright soil. The Sentinel-2 spectral simulations were used to train a SOM of 200 × 125 neurons. The training projected similar spectral signatures onto either the same, or contiguous, neuron(s). Tracing back the inputs that generated each spectral signature, we created a 200 × 125 map for each of the SLC variables. The lack of spatial patterns and the variability in these maps indicate ill-posed situations, where similar spectral signatures correspond to different canopy variables. For Sentinel-2, our results showed that leaf area index, crown cover and leaf chlorophyll, water and brown pigment content are less confused in the inversion than variables with noisier maps like fraction of brown canopy area, leaf dry matter content and the PROSPECT mesophyll parameter. This study supports both educational and on-going research activities on inversion algorithms and might be useful to evaluate the uncertainties of retrieved canopy biophysical and biochemical state variables.     

Non-linear partial least square regression increases the estimation accuracy of grass nitrogen and phosphorus using in situ hyperspectral and environmental data

Grass nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations are direct indicators of rangeland quality and provide imperative information for sound management of wildlife and livestock. It is challenging to estimate grass N and P concentrations using remote sensing in the savanna ecosystems. These areas are diverse and heterogeneous in soil and plant moisture, soil nutrients, grazing pressures, and human activities. The objective of the study is to test the performance of non-linear partial least squares regression (PLSR) for predicting grass N and P concentrations through integrating in situ hyperspectral remote sensing and environmental variables (climatic, edaphic and topographic). Data were collected along a land use gradient in the greater Kruger National Park region. The data consisted of: (i) in situ-measured hyperspectral spectra, (ii) environmental variables and measured grass N and P concentrations. The hyperspectral variables included published starch, N and protein spectral absorption features, red edge position, narrow-band indices such as simple ratio (SR) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The results of the non-linear PLSR were compared to those of conventional linear PLSR. Using non-linear PLSR, integrating in situ hyperspectral and environmental variables yielded the highest grass N and P estimation accuracy (R² = 0.81, root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.08, and R² = 0.80, RMSE = 0.03, respectively) as compared to using remote sensing variables only, and conventional PLSR. The study demonstrates the importance of an integrated modeling approach for estimating grass quality which is a crucial effort towards effective management and planning of protected and communal savanna ecosystems.     

Comparing methods for mapping canopy chlorophyll content in a mixed mountain forest using Sentinel-2 data

The Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) has three spectral bands centered at 705, 740, and 783 nm wavelengths that exploit the red-edge information useful for quantifying plant biochemical traits. This sensor configuration is expected to improve the prediction accuracy of vegetation chlorophyll content. In this work, we assessed the performance of several statistical and physical-based methods in retrieving canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) from Sentinel-2 in a heterogeneous mixed mountain forest. Amongst the algorithms presented in the literature, 13 different vegetation indices (VIs), a non-parametric statistical approach, and two radiative transfer models (RTM) were used to assess the CCC prediction accuracy. A field campaign was conducted in July 2017 to collect in situ measurements of CCC in Bavarian forest national park, and the cloud-free Sentinel-2 image was acquired on 13 July 2017. The leave-one-out cross-validation technique was used to compare the VIs and the non-parametric approach. Whereas physical-based methods were calibrated using simulated data and validated using the in situ reference dataset. The statistical-based approaches, such as the modified simple ratio (mSR) vegetation index and the partial least square regression (PLSR) outperformed all other techniques. As such the modified simple ratio (mSR3) (665, 865) gave the lowest cross-validated RMSE of 0.21 g/m² (R² = 0.75). The PLSR resulted in the highest R² of 0.78, and slightly higher RMSE =0.22 g/m² than mSR3. The physical-based approach-INFORM inversion using look-up table resulted in an RMSE =0.31 g/m², and R² = 0.67. Although mapping CCC using these methods revealed similar spatial distribution patterns, over and underestimation of low and high CCC values were observed mainly in the statistical approaches. Further validation using in situ data from different terrestrial ecosystems is imperative for both the statistical and physical-based approaches' effectiveness to quantify CCC before selecting the best operational algorithm to map CCC from Sentinel-2 for long-term terrestrial ecosystems monitoring across the globe.     

小麦冠层理化参量的高光谱遥感反演试验研究

以国产成像光谱仪所获高光谱遥感数据为基础，根据田间同步采样数据建立的基于反射光谱特征的小麦冠层生物物理和生物化学估计模型，实现了用航空高光谱遥感数据对田间小麦冠层理化参量的整体反演。结果表明：用高光谱遥感方法估计小麦冠层理化参量是可行的；以理化参数为“波段”的数字图像及其处理，为农学家以理化参量的空间分布及其差异解释作物产量空间分布差异和研究作物生态生理机理提供了新的手段。     

Use of high spectral resolution remote sensing to determine leaf palatability of eucalypt trees for folivorous marsupials

In this study we assess the feasibility of remotely measuring canopy biochemistry, and thus the potential for conducting large-scale mapping of habitat quality. A number of studies have found nutrient composition of eucalypt foliage to be a major determinant of the distribution of folivorous marsupials. More recently it has been demonstrated that a specific group of secondary plant chemicals, the diformylphloroglucinols (DFPs), are the most important feeding deterrents, and are thus vital determinants of habitat quality. We report on the use of laboratory spectroscopy to attempt to identify one such DFP, sideroxylonal-A, in the foliage of Eucalyptus melliodora, one of the few eucalypt species browsed by folivorous marsupials. Reflectance spectra were obtained for freeze-dried, ground leaves using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and for both oven-dried and fresh whole leaves using a laboratory-based (FieldSpec) spectroradiometer. Modified partial least squares (MPLS) regression was used to develop calibration equations for sideroxylonal-A concentration based on the reflectance spectra transformed as both the first and second difference of absorbance (Log 1/R). The predictive ability of the calibration equations was assessed using the standard error of calibration statistic (SECV). Coefficients of determination (r²) were highest for the ground leaf spectra (0.98), followed by the fresh leaf and dry leaf spectra (0.94 and 0.87, respectively). When applied to independent validation sub-sets, sideroxylonal-A was most accurately predicted from the ground leaf spectra (r² = 0.94), followed by the dry leaf and fresh leaf spectra (0.72 and 0.53, respectively). Two spectral regions, centred on 674 nm and 1394 nm, were found to be highly correlated with sideroxylonal-A concentration for each of the three spectral data sets studied. Results from this study suggest that calibration equations derived from modified partial least squares regression may be used to predict sideroxylonal-A concentration, and hence leaf palatability, of Eucalyptus melliodora trees, thereby indicating that the remote estimation of habitat quality of eucalypt forests for marsupial folivores is feasible.     

基于冠层反射光谱的水稻产量预测模型

基于地面实测的水稻冠层反射光谱,计算了常用的8个植被指数,并在产量形成生理特征的基础上,系统分析了水稻籽粒产量及其构成因素与各植被指数之间的关系。结果表明,通过单一生育时期或某个生育阶段的光谱植被指数来直接估测产量精度较低。发现叶面积氮指数(叶片氮百分含量与叶面积指数的乘积)的变化趋势很好地反映了产量的形成过程,且与光谱植被指数极显著正相关,基于此建立了水稻的光谱植被指数-累积叶面积氮指数-产量估测模型(VICLANIYieldModel)。并将其与LAD-产量模型、多生育期复合估产模型进行了比较,表明本模型预测精度最高。