10 research outputs found
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An efficient strategy for the inversion of bidirectional reflectance models with satellite remote sensing data
The angular distribution of radiation scattered by the earth surface contains information on the structural and optical properties of the surface. Potentially, this information may be retrieved through the inversion of surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models. This report details the limitations and efficient application of BRDF model inversions using data from ground- and satellite-based sensors. A turbid medium BRDF model, based on the discrete ordinates solution to the transport equation, was used to quantify the sensitivity of top-of-canopy reflectance to vegetation and soil parameters. Results were used to define parameter sets for inversions. Using synthetic reflectance values, the invertibility of the model was investigated for different optimization algorithms, surface and sampling conditions. Inversions were also conducted with field data from a ground-based radiometer. First, a soil BRDF model was inverted for different soil and sampling conditions. A condition-invariant solution was determined and used as the lower boundary condition in canopy model inversions. Finally, a scheme was developed to improve the speed and accuracy of inversions
Vegetation structure characteristics and relationships of Kalahari woodlands and savannas
The Kalahari Transect is one of several International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) transects designed to address global change questions at the regional scale, in particular by exploiting natural parameter gradients (Koch et al., 1995). In March 2000, we collected near-synoptic vegetation structural data at five sites spanning the Kalahari's large precipitation gradient (about 300–1000 mm yr?1) from southern Botswana (?24°S) to Zambia (?15°S). All sites were within the expansive Kalahari sandsheet. Common parameters, including plant area index (PAI), leaf area index (LAI) and canopy cover (CC), were measured or derived using several indirect instruments and at multiple spatial scales. Results show that CC and PAI increase with increasing mean annual precipitation. Canopy clumping, defined by the deviation of the gap size distribution from that of randomly distributed foliage, was fairly constant along the gradient. We provide empirical relationships relating these parameters to each other and to precipitation. These results, combined with those in companion Kalahari Transect studies, provide a unique and coherent test bed for ecological modeling. The data may be used to parameterize process models, as well as test internally predicted parameters and their variability in response to well-characterized climatological differences.<br/