Estimation of grassland biophysical parameters in a “dehesa” ecosystem from field spectroscopy and airborne hyperspectral imagery

[EN] The aim of this paper is the estimation of biophysical vegetation parameters from its optical properties. The variables Fuel Moisture Content (FMC), Canopy Water Content (CWC), Leaf Area Index (LAI), dry matter (Cm) and AboveGround Biomass (AGB) were estimated in the laboratory from vegetation samples collected simultaneously with the acquisition of spectral data from the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) sensor and the field spectroradiometer ASD FieldSpec® 3. Spectral vegetation indices found in the literature were computed from hyperspectral data. Their linear relationships with the biophysical variables measured in the field were analysed. Results show consistent relationships between analysed biophysical parameters and spectral indices, mainly those using SWIR and red-egde bands which reveal the importance of these spectral regions for the estimation of biophysical variables in herbaceous covers. Determination coefficients (R2) above 0.91 and RRMSE of 21.4% have been obtained for the spectral indexes calculated whit ASD data, and 0.91 R2 and RRMSE of 15.5% for the spectral indexes calculated whit CASI data.[ES] Este trabajo aborda la estimación de variables biofísicas de un pastizal de dehesa a partir de información óptica generada por sensores próximos y remotos. Las variables de contenido de humedad del combustible (FMC), contenido de agua del dosel (CWC), índice de área foliar (LAI), materia seca (Cm) y biomasa superficial (AGB) fueron estimadas en laboratorio a partir de muestras de vegetación tomadas simultáneamente a la adquisición de datos hiperespectrales del sensor Compact Airbone Spectrographic Imager (CASI) y del espectro-radiómetro de campo ASD FieldSpec®3. A partir de la información espectral se han calculado diversos índices extraídos de la literatura y se han analizado las relaciones lineales existentes con las variables biofísicas medidas en campo. Los resultados muestran relaciones consistentes entre las variables biofísicas y los índices espectrales, especialmente en el caso de los índices basados en bandas del infrarrojo medio de onda corta (SWIR) y del red-edge, poniendo de manifiesto la importancia de estas regiones en la estimación de variables biofísicas en cubiertas de pastizal. Se han obteniendo coeficientes de determinación (R2) superiores a 0,91 y un error cuadrático medio relativo (RRMSE) de 21,4%, para los índices espectra-les calculados con datos ASD; yR2 de 0,91 y RRMSE de 15,5% para los índices espectrales calculados con datos CASI.Este trabajo se ha realizado en el contexto de los proyectos BIOSPEC (CGL2008-02301/CLI) financiado por el Ministerio e Innovación y FLUχPEC (CGL2012-34383) financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Agradecemos al Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte la financiación recibida a través del programa de becas FPU del investigador predoctoral José Ramón Melendo. 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