Revisit the performance of MODIS and VIIRS leaf area index products from the perspective of time-series stability

As an essential vegetation structural parameter, leaf area index (LAI) is involved in many critical biochemical processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and precipitation interception. The MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) LAI sequence products have long supported various global climate, biogeochemistry, and energy flux research. These applications all rely on the accuracy of the product’s long time series. However, uncontrolled interferences (e.g., adverse observation conditions and sensor uncertainties) potentially introduce substantial uncertainties to time series in product applications. As one of the most sensitive areas in response to global climate change, the Tibet Plateau (TP) has been treated as a crucial testing ground for thousands of studies on vegetation. To ensure the credibility of the studies arising from MODIS/VIIRSLAI products, the temporal quality uncertainties of data need to be clarified. This article proposed a method to revisit the temporal stability of the MODIS (MOD and MYD) and VIIRS (VNP) LAI in the TP, expecting to provide useful information for better accounting for the uncertainties in this area. Results show that the MODIS and VIIRS LAI were relatively stable in time series and available to be used continuously, among which the temporal quality of the MODIS LAI was the most stable. Moreover, the MODIS and VIIRS LAI products performed similarly in both time-series stability and time-series anomaly distribution, magnitudes and fluctuations. The time-series stability evaluation strategy applied to the MODIS and VIIRS LAI can also be employed to other remote sensing products.Published versio

Development and Extrapolation of a General Light Use Efficiency Model for the Gross Primary Production

The global carbon cycle is one of the large biogeochemical cycles spanning all living and non-living compartments of the Earth system. Against the background of accelerating global change, the scientific community is highly interested in analyzing and understanding the dynamics of the global carbon cycle and its complex feedback mechanism with the terrestrial biosphere. The international network FLUXNET was established to serve this aim with measurement towers around the globe. The overarching objective of this thesis is to exploit the powerful combination of carbon flux measurements and satellite remote sensing in order to develop a simple but robust model for the gross primary production (GPP) of vegetation stands. Measurement data from FLUXNET sites as well as remote sensing data from the NASA sensor MODIS are exploited in a data-based model development approach. The well-established concept of light use efficiency is chosen as modeling framework. As a result, a novel gross primary production model is established to quantify the carbon uptake of forests and grasslands across a broad range of climate zones. Furthermore, an extrapolation scheme is derived, with which the model parameters calibrated at FLUXNET sites can be regionalized to pave the way for spatially continuous model applications

Significant Remote Sensing Vegetation Indices: A Review of Developments and Applications

Vegetation Indices (VIs) obtained from remote sensing based canopies are quite simple and effective algorithms for quantitative and qualitative evaluations of vegetation cover, vigor, and growth dynamics, among other applications. These indices have been widely implemented within RS applications using different airborne and satellite platforms with recent advances using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Up to date, there is no unified mathematical expression that defines all VIs due to the complexity of different light spectra combinations, instrumentation, platforms, and resolutions used. Therefore, customized algorithms have been developed and tested against a variety of applications according to specific mathematical expressions that combine visible light radiation, mainly green spectra region, from vegetation, and nonvisible spectra to obtain proxy quantifications of the vegetation surface. In the real-world applications, optimization VIs are usually tailored to the specific application requirements coupled with appropriate validation tools and methodologies in the ground. The present study introduces the spectral characteristics of vegetation and summarizes the development of VIs and the advantages and disadvantages from different indices developed. This paper reviews more than 100 VIs, discussing their specific applicability and representativeness according to the vegetation of interest, environment, and implementation precision. Predictably, research, and development of VIs, which are based on hyperspectral and UAV platforms, would have a wide applicability in different areas

Validation and application of the MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index.

Climate is one of the key variables driving ecosystems at local to global scales. How and to what extent vegetation responds to climate variability is a challenging topic for global change analysis. Earth observation provides an opportunity to study temporal ecosystem dynamics, providing much needed information about the response of vegetation to environmental and climatic change at local to global scales. The European Space Agency (ESA) uses data recorded by the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERlS) in red I near infrared spectral bands to produce an operational product called the MERlS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI). The MTCI is related to the position of the red edge in vegetation spectra and can be used to estimate the chlorophyll content of vegetation. The MTCI therefore provides a powerful product to monitor phenology, stress and productivity. The MTCI needs full validation if it is to be embraced by the user community who require precise and consistent, spatial and temporal comparisons of vegetation condition. This research details experimental investigations into variables that may influence the relationship between the MTCI and vegetation chlorophyll content, namely soil background and sensor view angle, vegetation type and spatial scale. Validation campaigns in the New Forest and at Brooms Barn agricultural study site reinforced the strong correlation between chlorophyll content and MTCI that was evident from laboratory spectroscopy investigations, demonstrating the suitability of the MTCI as a surrogate for field chlorophyll content measurements independent of cover type. However, this relationship was significantly weakened where the leaf area index (LAI) was low, indicating that the MTCI is sensitive to the effects of soil background. In the light of such conclusions, this project then assessed the MTCI as a tool to monitor changes in ecosystem phenology as a function of climatic variability, and the suitability of the MTCI as a surrogate measure of photosynthetic light use efficiency, to model ecosystem gross primary productivity (GPP) at various sites in North America with contrasting vegetation types. Changes in MTCI throughout the growing season demonstrated the potential of the MTCI to estimate vegetation dynamics, characterising the temporal characteristics in both phenology and gross primary productivity

Improving Land Surface Modeling Using Satellite and Field Observation Data for a Meteorology and Air Quality Modeling System

Ingesting MODIS satellite derived leaf area index (LAI), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR), and albedo into the Pleim-Xiu (PX) land surface model (LSM) in the combined meteorology and air quality modeling system WRF/CMAQ, composed of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ), adds realism to the system especially for vegetation fractional coverage in western drylands because the PX LSM intentionally exaggerates vegetation coverage in these sparsely vegetated areas for more effective soil moisture nudging for surface temperature and water vapor mixing ratio estimations. Initial simulations with realistic MODIS vegetation show mixed results with greater error and bias in daytime temperature and greater high bias for ozone concentrations but reduced error and bias in moisture over the western arid regions. Incorporating yearlong MODIS input into an updated WRF/CMAQ with recent improvements in vegetation, soil, and boundary layer processes results in improved 2 m temperature (T) and mixing ratio (Q), 10 m wind speed, and surface ozone simulations across the U.S. WRF/CMAQ 12km domain compared to the initial simulations. Yearlong MODIS input helps reduce bias of the 2 m Q estimation during the growing season from April to September. Improvements follow the green up in the southeast from April and move towards the west and north through August. A coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model with two-big leaf canopy scaling (PX PSN) is developed for the PX LSM in a diagnostic box model. The PX PSN shows distinct advantages in simulating latent heat over landscapes with short vegetation such as grassland and cropland. The advanced approach performs exceptionally well in simulating ozone deposition velocity and flux while the current PX approach significantly overestimates.Doctor of Philosoph

Remote Sensing for Precision Nitrogen Management

This book focuses on the fundamental and applied research of the non-destructive estimation and diagnosis of crop leaf and plant nitrogen status and in-season nitrogen management strategies based on leaf sensors, proximal canopy sensors, unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing, manned aerial remote sensing and satellite remote sensing technologies. Statistical and machine learning methods are used to predict plant-nitrogen-related parameters with sensor data or sensor data together with soil, landscape, weather and/or management information. Different sensing technologies or different modelling approaches are compared and evaluated. Strategies are developed to use crop sensing data for in-season nitrogen recommendations to improve nitrogen use efficiency and protect the environment

Validation and application of the MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index

Climate is one of the key variables driving ecosystems at local to global scales. How and to what extent vegetation responds to climate variability is a challenging topic for global change analysis. Earth observation provides an opportunity to study temporal ecosystem dynamics, providing much needed information about the response of vegetation to environmental and climatic change at local to global scales. The European Space Agency (ESA) uses data recorded by the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERlS) in red I near infrared spectral bands to produce an operational product called the MERlS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI). The MTCI is related to the position of the red edge in vegetation spectra and can be used to estimate the chlorophyll content of vegetation. The MTCI therefore provides a powerful product to monitor phenology, stress and productivity. The MTCI needs full validation if it is to be embraced by the user community who require precise and consistent, spatial and temporal comparisons of vegetation condition. This research details experimental investigations into variables that may influence the relationship between the MTCI and vegetation chlorophyll content, namely soil background and sensor view angle, vegetation type and spatial scale. Validation campaigns in the New Forest and at Brooms Barn agricultural study site reinforced the strong correlation between chlorophyll content and MTCI that was evident from laboratory spectroscopy investigations, demonstrating the suitability of the MTCI as a surrogate for field chlorophyll content measurements independent of cover type. However, this relationship was significantly weakened where the leaf area index (LAI) was low, indicating that the MTCI is sensitive to the effects of soil background. In the light of such conclusions, this project then assessed the MTCI as a tool to monitor changes in ecosystem phenology as a function of climatic variability, and the suitability of the MTCI as a surrogate measure of photosynthetic light use efficiency, to model ecosystem gross primary productivity (GPP) at various sites in North America with contrasting vegetation types. Changes in MTCI throughout the growing season demonstrated the potential of the MTCI to estimate vegetation dynamics, characterising the temporal characteristics in both phenology and gross primary productivity.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo