What can we find out?

Breakdown

Earth is covered by:

y 70% water & 30% land

The 30% that is land is broken down into the following first order categories.
y 30% trees y 30% grasses y 15% snow & ice y 18% bare rock y 7% sand & desert rock.

Ouargla Oasis in the Sahara Desert of southern Algeria

The land provides a significant portion of the vegetation for the human diet

primary categories of land vegetation (biomes) and their proportions

Remote sensing has proven a powerful "tool" for assessing the identity, characteristics, and growth potential of most kinds of vegetative matter at several levels (from biomes to individual plants). Vegetation behavior depends on the nature of the vegetation itself, its interactions with solar radiation and other climate factors.

Keep in mind that various remote sensing systems (e.g., meteorological or earth-observing satellites) can provide inputs to productivity estimation.

Spectral reflectance of agricultural vegetation types.

What are we looking at?

Under suitable circumstances, it is feasible to detect crop stress generally from moisture deficiency or disease and pests, and sometimes suggest treatment before the farmers become aware of problems. Stress is indicated by a progressive decrease in Near-IR reflectance accompanied by a reversal in Short-Wave IR reflectance, as shown in this diagram:

Source: Jensen, 2000

The Root of Everything

Plants perform photosynthesis to live, using chlorophyll to convert carbon and water into sugar and oxygen. Plants have evolved to perform photosynthesis efficiently, possessing both internal and external adaptations. In turn, this has influenced the appearance of leaves and canopies, affecting remote sensing.

Dominant Factors Controlling Leaf Reflectance

1.

Leaf pigments
- Plants have evolved to absorb wavelengths in the visible spectrum very well in order to grow.

2. 3.

Scattering in the spongy mesophyll

- Plants have evolved to prevent overheating.

Leaf water content

- Plants have evolved to absorb and store nutrients and water from the soil to grow.

Chlorophyll b Chlor ophyll a Ab sorption Efficiency

Absorption Spectra of Chlorophyll a and b

Dominant Factors: Leaf Pigments

Plants have evolved to absorb wavelengths in the visible spectrum very well. Chlorophyll absorbs blue and red light: a absorbs in the 0.43 0.66 m band b absorbs in the 0.45 0.65 m band Between the two absorption bands is a trough of relatively low absorption efficiency, corresponding to the green ( 0.54 m) portion of the spectrum. This low portion in the absorption of green light by leaves gives healthy leaves their characteristic green coloring to human eyes. Other less abundant pigments such as those described in Figure B are also found in leaves.

0.25

0 .3

0 .35

0 .4

0 .45

0 .5

0 .55

0 .6

0 .65

0.7

a.

violet blue green yellow red Wavelength, Qm Phycocyanin Phycoerythrin

Ab sorption Efficiency

F-carotene

0.25

0 .3

0 .35

0 .4

0 .45

0 .5

0 .55

0 .6

0 .65

0.7

b.

violet blue green yellow red Wavelength, Qm

Why Pigments Matter

Pigmentation affects the appearance of plants. In particular, stress and variation in seasonal chlorophyll production can cause plants to absorb less radiation in the chlorophyll absorption bands. This typically increases leaf reflectance in the visible spectrum.

Dominant Factors Controlling Leaf Reflectance

Dominant Factors: Spongy Mesophyll

Healthy green leaves typically reflect well in the near-infrared region (700 1200 nm) If they absorbed it instead, proteins in the plant could be denatured because of a drastic increase in temperature, damaging the plant. The spongy mesophyll controls the amount of near-IR reflected. Typically, it has both high reflectance and transmittance capability. Internal scattering also occurs at the cell wall-air interfaces within the leaf.

Spongy Mesophyll

Why the Spongy Mesophyll Matters

Healthy green leaves have high reflectance in the near-infrared region. Most radiation is either reflected or transmitted by a given leaf. Because leaf canopies are layered, a similar portion of what radiation is transmitted is then reflected again by lower layers of leaves. This is called Additive Reflectance. Because biomass and canopy density increases as a plant matures, it will typically reflect more near-IR radiation as it matures.

Dominant Factors Controlling Leaf Reflectance

Dominant Factors: Leaf Water Content

Water is a requirement for photosynthesis. Much of it is stored in the spongy mesophyll of the plant. Since water absorbs middle-infrared energy well, more turgid leaves have lower middle-IR reflectance. This reflectance increases with lower turgidity because of increased scattering at the interfaces of intercellular walls.

Why Leaf Water Content Matters

Plants lose water through transpiration. Transpiration is the evaporation of water inside leaves due to heating. As water evaporates at the top of leaves, the water column of the plant is pulled upward, delivering dissolved minerals from the soil and cooling the leaves. Thus, water content provides an indirect measure of the rate of transpiration as well as the health of the vegetation.

Dominant Factors Controlling Leaf Reflectance

Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BDRF)

Vegetation reflects differently depending on a large number of variables. Two important variables are the geometry of the sun and the sensor: If the sun is located behind an observer, backscatter will exist. If the sun is located in front of an observer, forward scatter will exist. In general, because of variation, it is important to perform in situ measurements while extracting spectral information.

High Spatial Resolution

A higher spatial resolution allows for better evaluation of biodiversity in a vegetated area, and would be better for determining specific plant types in an area since different plants reflect different wavelengths
y Depending on the area, fragmentation of plant

species would be more obvious y Better suited for areas with sparse, vegetation such as brush-land or deserts y If cost or storage space is not a factor, high spatial resolution is usually preferred

Low Spatial Resolution

A lower spatial resolution would generalize the types of vegetation in an area, and make it more difficult to determine which plant types are actually present
y Better suited for areas of dense vegetation where

only a few plant species are known to be present, or in areas with large expanses of single species y Low spatial resolution makes it more difficult to determine vegetation boundaries, and would leave out small patches of vegetation which are less than the resolution on the image, which would cause error in measuring a vegetated area

Spectral resolution

Spectral resolution is number of spectral bands that an imaging system can detect.
y Ultraviolet, visible, and infrared are useful in

remote sensing of earths surface y All plants reflect slightly different wavelengths; including wavelengths outside the visible spectrum

High spectral resolution usually consists of around 220 bands and low resolution consists of around 3

Spectral resolution

Depending on the purpose of the sensed images, it may be necessary to use different spectral bands
y Using the visible spectrum to measure

vegetation cover may result in error caused by shadows or misinterpretation of the image y Since healthy vegetation reflects more nearinfrared light than non biological objects, it is more apparent in false color images, and easier to distinguish from the surroundings y Problems may arise if the area is vegetated but experiencing a dry season, which would decrease reflectance of near IR wavelengths

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

NOAA-7, 9, 11, 14, 16 and 18 afternoon polar-orbiting satellites

y orbits the Earth 14 times each day from 833 km

Senses visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared Deriving Sea Surface Temperatures Deriving the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Deriving atmospheric aerosols over the Monitoring volcanic eruptions and supporting an operational NOAA warning of volcanic ash in the atmosphere during eruption events, Monitoring cloud patterns And other applications requiring the high temporal resolution of global daily coverage, with moderate spectral and spatial resolution, operational sidelap stereoscopic coverage, and calibrated thermal sensors.

Spectral Range

NOAA-7,9,11,12,14
y 10.58-0.68 m Daytime cloud and surface mapping y 20.725-1.00 m Land-water boundaries y 33.55-3.93 m Night cloud mapping, sea surface temperature y 410.3-11.3 m Night cloud mapping, sea surface temperature y 511.5-12.5 m Sea surface temperature

Vegetation health derived from moisture conditions, thermal conditions and combinations of both

*Normalized Difference Vegetation Index http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/smcd/emb/vci/images/usa_8km/animation_usa_GVIX_NN_G08_C07_SMN_Y2006.gif

Radiometric Resolution
Common types of satellites used to sense vegetation IKONOS Landsat TM SPOT IKONOS: collects data with a 11-bit (0-2047) sensitivity and delivered in a 16 bit (0-65535) data format. Is often rescaled down to 8 bit (0-255) to decrease file size. SPOT: uses a 8 bit (0-255) sensitivity and is accompanied by a digital elevation model to create 3D terrain modeling for topographic accuracy and canopy height. Landsat TM: Landsat MSS has a 6-7 bit resolution sensitivity while the TM and ETM+ satellites have an 8 bit resolution also equipped with DEM for 3D modeling.

Tetracam ADC
The ADC is a single sensor digital camera designed and optimized for capture of visible light wavelengths longer than 520nm and near-infrared wavelengths up to 920nm. The primary use of this product is the recording vegetation canopy reflectance. The resulting image is suitable for derivation of several vegetation indices. The single sensor is a 3.2 megapixel Motorola CMOS sensor (2048x1536 pixels) Red, Green and NIR bands (approximating TM2, TM3 and TM4) provides the information needed for extraction of NDVI, SAVI, canopy segmentation and NIR / Green ratios. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) CMOS Sensor: complementary metal oxide semiconductor each pixel has its own charge-to-voltage conversion, and the sensor often also includes amplifiers, noise-correction, and digitization circuits, so that the chip outputs digital bits.

Image Capture Capacity: Approx. 3 MB per image, limited only by CF card size. Image Capture Rate: From 2 to 5 seconds per picture, depending on file save mode selected. Image storage to Compact Flash in Tetracam 10 bit DCM lossless, 8 bit RAW, and 10 bit RAW formats

Temporal resolution of Vegetation

Different crops have unique reflectance properties due to the understory Material or background soil influence The amount of understory background material is directly related to the stage of growth in its natural cycle. Information is then used to determine the optimal time of year to sense data Phenological Cycles: in order to better remotely sense vegetation you must understand Its natural growth cycle. Peak growth production periods are always relative to the peak of wet season in any one area

NASA Landsat 7 ETM+ (bands 4,3,2) image of Glacier Bay National Park, Southeast Alaska. Red colors represent areas of vegetation re-growth following recent episodes of deglaciation.

Temporal resolution of Vegetation This poses a problem for those who want to collect maximum data during growing season due to the amount of cloud cover present, thus the need for higher temporal resolution sensors For optimal results when documenting biomass it is important to consider the following. Time of year in which research is being conducted e.g. canopy cover Annual temperature shifts-may speed up or delay phenological cycle by up to two weeks Monitoring biomass can provide information about stability of the Natural ecosystem and whether change has occurred IKONOS:3 to 5 days off-nadir and 144 days for true-nadir. Landsat: 16 Days SPOT: 26 Days

What Bands are Used?

Different band combinations illustrate spectral differences across bands Remote sensing of vegetation is dominated by multispectral sensors with bands in the reflective portion of the spectrum Early sensors had minimal spectral resolution, but tended to include bands in the red and near-infrared, which are useful to distinguish vegetation and clouds, amongst other targets.

Each band contains some information The combination or comparison of several bands can provide information not available in a single band Vegetation indices are designed to measure some physical characteristic of the vegetation in each pixel such as LAI (Leaf Area Index) or biomass.

Vegetation Indices

There are over 20 vegetation indices in use today First vegetation index: Simple Ratio (SR) SR = NIR / Red

The most common vegetation index is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). NDVI compares the reflectance values of the red and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum using the following formula: NDVI = NIR-RED / NIR+RED

Vegetation Indices

The NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) value, which ranges from -1.0 to 1.0 for each pixel in an image, helps identify areas of varying levels of plant biomass/vigor. Higher values indicate high biomass/high vigor.

NDVI

NDVI Continued
Negative values of NDVI (values approaching -1) correspond to water. Values close to zero (-0.1 to 0.1) generally correspond to barren areas of rock, sand, or snow. Lastly, low, positive values represent shrub and grassland (approximately 0.2 to 0.4), while high values indicate temperate and tropical rainforests

Applications of Remote Sensing of Vegetation

Can be used for many different land covers and land uses
y y y y y y y

Change in forested areas, canopy cover Wildlife habitat Health of biome Impact of drought or flooding Presence of invasive species Agriculture Soils and fertility analysis

Most uses are for modern agriculture - Thats where the money is (West) - Peoples health depend on it (East)

Applications

Ideally we would have a databank of all pertinent spectral information of;

y The spectral reflectance and emittance characteristics of every

type of vegetation y The temporal signatures of all plant life (phenological cycle) y What the vegetation type would look like in the event of stress or infestation
The image part with relationship ID rId2 was not found in the file.

But unfortunately we dont. So in situ measurements are a must, collected remotely sensed data must be field checked to verify.

Remote sensing in Agriculture

Remotely sensed data can be used to help minimize inputs and maximize profits of many crops Help to determine harvest schedules and yield projections Irrigation needs Pest or disease infestation Other stresses Overall crop health

Practical Application at Blueberry Hill

The image part with relationship ID rId2 was not found in the file.

I would like to know where and when the most new cane growth occurs. I would like to know where the trees are.

Practical Applications

1-3 year old new can growth is where 75% of the berry production comes from Identify spectral signature from in situ measurements of new canes Use spectral signature to determine appropriate sensor and exactly what spectral reflectance information is wanted Evaluate temporal phenological cycle of blueberry bushes to establish an index and best time for image capture

Blueberry Vegetation
When to plant: it is optimal to plant in late winter or early spring depending on location the dormant season; late winter Duration of life: Blueberry plant can live up 25 years but reaches peak production between the 8 to 10 years of age Harvest: The best quality when picked every five to seven days depending on temperature

Wild blueberry in autumn vegetation

Blueberry Applications

Notice new canes appear different versus older canes. In situ measurements required to delineate exactly what the spectral reflectance is of new canes Could we do this?

Practical Applications

Trees prevent bushes from full sun and inhibit movement in the field Identifying clustering of trees might help determine factors causing encroachment and help guide principals and policies in combating Distinguishing blueberry bushes from mixed vegetation land use using high resolution satellite imagery and geospatial techniques
Sudan's S. Panda, , GerritHoogenboomb, Joel Pazba Department of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Gainesville State College, 3820 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood, GA 30566, USA b Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USA

Applications

Distinguishing bushes from other land types

y Small scale orchard in G.A. y analyzed green, NIR (near-infrared), panchromatic bands and

normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and ratio vegetation index (RVI) y Derive where the blueberry bushes are vs. the trees y Blueberry bushes are known to be strong forward scatterers, where as soft-leaved dwarf shrubs are backscatters (Peltoniemi et al., 2005) y Blueberry is distinguishable at the 680700nm (Red) band width and the 800900 nm (NIR) band width range (Peltoniemi et al., 2005; Rao, 2007).

.(i) to predict/forecast the blueberry yield for decision making, (ii) to determine the health of blueberry orchard through geospatial model development along with soil parameters and climatologic data, and (iii) to use remotely sensed image based land-use land cover data to perform a blue- berry geospatial suitability mapping..

Questions
Why are these vegetation indices important? In short, their primary value is to assess whether the target being observed contains live green vegetation or not.

What is the phenological cycle? What are some of the applications of remote sensing in agriculture? Why are in situ measurements so important in remote sensing of vegetation ?