Estimating scattered and absorbed radiation in plant canopies by remote sensing

Abstract

Several research avenues are summarized. The relationships of canopy characteristics to multispectral reflectance factors of vegetation are reviewed. Several alternative approaches for incorporating spectrally derived information into plant models are discussed, using corn as the main example. A method is described and evaluated whereby a leaf area index is estimated from measurements of radiation transmitted through plant canopies, using soybeans as an example. Albedo of a big bluestem grass canopy is estimated from 60 directional reflectance factor measurements. Effects of estimating albedo with substantially smaller subsets of data are evaluated