TY - JOUR
T1 - Sensitivity of leaf chlorophyll empirical
estimators obtained at Sentinel-2 spectral
resolution for different canopy structures
AU - Vincini, Massimo
AU - Calegari, Ferdinando
AU - Casa, R.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - A comparison of the sensitivity of canopy scale estimators of leaf chlorophyll,
obtainable with Sentinel-2 spectral resolution, to soil, canopy and leaf mesophyll factors,
was addressed. The analysis of a synthetic dataset, generated simulating the reflectance in
the 1–4 LAI range of canopies for the main general classes of leaf inclination (i.e. erectophile,
plagiophile, spherical, planophile and extremophile) and for different soil types
was used for such a purpose. The synthetic dataset was obtained using the PROSPECT5-
4SAIL model in the direct mode with a large variety of soil backgrounds. Additionally an
experimental dataset including airborne hyperspectral data gathered during ESA (European
Space Agency) campaigns SPARC and AGRISAR, was employed to simulate Sentinel-2
spectral and spatial resolution, to confirm model results. Analysis of the synthetic and
experimental datasets indicated that: (i) the CVI (Chlorophyll Vegetation Index), relying
only on visible and NIR (Near Infra-Red) bands and obtainable at 10 m spatial resolution,
can be used as leaf chlorophyll estimator, at growth stages suitable for nitrogen fertilizer
topdressings, for all canopy structures except for erectophile canopies; (ii) better results
can be obtained by using different indices for different leaf architectures, with TCI/OSAVI
(Triangular Chlorophyll Index/Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) performing
better for erectophile canopies, whereas MTCI (MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index)
provides better results for planophile canopies, despite the fact that these indices require
bands obtainable at 20 m spatial resolution from Sentinel-2 data.
AB - A comparison of the sensitivity of canopy scale estimators of leaf chlorophyll,
obtainable with Sentinel-2 spectral resolution, to soil, canopy and leaf mesophyll factors,
was addressed. The analysis of a synthetic dataset, generated simulating the reflectance in
the 1–4 LAI range of canopies for the main general classes of leaf inclination (i.e. erectophile,
plagiophile, spherical, planophile and extremophile) and for different soil types
was used for such a purpose. The synthetic dataset was obtained using the PROSPECT5-
4SAIL model in the direct mode with a large variety of soil backgrounds. Additionally an
experimental dataset including airborne hyperspectral data gathered during ESA (European
Space Agency) campaigns SPARC and AGRISAR, was employed to simulate Sentinel-2
spectral and spatial resolution, to confirm model results. Analysis of the synthetic and
experimental datasets indicated that: (i) the CVI (Chlorophyll Vegetation Index), relying
only on visible and NIR (Near Infra-Red) bands and obtainable at 10 m spatial resolution,
can be used as leaf chlorophyll estimator, at growth stages suitable for nitrogen fertilizer
topdressings, for all canopy structures except for erectophile canopies; (ii) better results
can be obtained by using different indices for different leaf architectures, with TCI/OSAVI
(Triangular Chlorophyll Index/Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index) performing
better for erectophile canopies, whereas MTCI (MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index)
provides better results for planophile canopies, despite the fact that these indices require
bands obtainable at 20 m spatial resolution from Sentinel-2 data.
KW - Leaf chlorophyll
KW - Leaf inclination Variable
KW - Sentinel 2
KW - Vegetation indices
KW - Leaf chlorophyll
KW - Leaf inclination Variable
KW - Sentinel 2
KW - Vegetation indices
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/71994
U2 - 10.1007/s11119-015-9424-7
DO - 10.1007/s11119-015-9424-7
M3 - Article
SN - 1573-1618
SP - 1
EP - 19
JO - Precision Agriculture
JF - Precision Agriculture
ER -