CH APTER 1 1 :

Re m ot e Se n sin g of
Ve gge t a t ion
REFERENCE: Remote Sensing
of the Environment
John R. Jensen (2007)
Second Edition
Pearson Prentice Hall

TH E EARTH 'S SURFACE

The eart h's surface. This is a com posit e of num erous sat ellit e im ages, each select ed t o be
cloud- free. I t is unrealist ic because, at any m om ent , half of t he Eart h is in night t im e
darkness and m uch of it is cloud- covered. But t his beaut iful im age let s us view t he ent ire
surface at once. I t shows densely veget at ed regions in green, dry desert s in yellow or
brown, and ice- covered regions in whit e.

1
VEGETATI ON I N D EX

2
Rem ot e Sensing of Veget at ion

Spect ral
Charact erist ics

D om in a n t Fa ct or s Con t r ollin g
Le a f Re fle ct a n ce

W ater
a bsor pt ion

0.97 m
ba n ds:

1.19 m
1.45 m
1.94 m
2.70 m

3
 Cross- sect ion
Through A
Hypot het ical and
Real Leaff
Revealing t he
Maj or St ruct ural
Com ponent s t hat
Det erm ine t he
Spect ral
Reflect ance
of Veget at ion

I n t e r a ct ion of le a f st r u ct u r e
w it h visible a n d N I R r a dia t ion

4
 Chlorophyll b
Absorption Spectra
Chlorophyll a
of Chlorophyll a and b Absorpt ion Spect ra of

- carot ene, Pycoeryt hrin,

Chlorophyll a and b,
Absoorption Efficiency

lack of
absorpt ion
and Phycocyanin Pigm ent s

Chlorophyll a
0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

0.43 and 0.66 m .

a. peak absorpt ion is at
Wavelength, m
violet blue green yellow red

Phycocyanin
Phycoerythrin

Chlorophyll b

65 m .
peak absorpt ion is at
ncy

0 45 and 0
0.45 0.65
Absorption Efficien

-carotene
Opt im um chlorophyll

0.45 - 0.52 m and

absorpt ion windows are:

0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.63 - 0.69 m
Wavelength, m
b. violet blue green yellow red

5
Lit t on Em erge Spat ial, I nc., CI R Nat ural color im age ( RGB = RGB) of a
im age ( RGB = NI R,R,G) of N.Y. Power Aut horit y lake at 1 x 1 ft
Dunkirk, NY, at 1 x 1 m obt ained obt ained on Oct ober 13, 1997.
on Decem ber 12, 1998.

Spe ct r a l
Re fle ct a n ce
Ch a r a ct e r ist ics
of
Sw e e t gu m
Le a ve s
( Liqu ida m ba r
st yr a ciflu a L.)

6
 Spe ct r a l
3 Re fle ct a n ce
1 2 Ch a r a ct e r ist ics
a

of Se le ct e d
Ar e a s of
a.
Bla ck j a ck Oa k
b.
Le a ve s
4

c.
45
Green leaf 1
40
Yellow
35
Red/orange 2
30
Percent Reflectance

Brown 3
4
25

20

15

10

d. 0

(0.45 - 0.52m)
Blue
(0.52 - 0.60m) (0.63 - 0.69m) (0.70 - 0.92m)
Green Red Near-Infrared

H e m isph e r ica l Re fle ct a n ce , t r a n sm it t a n ce , a n d Absor pt ion

Ch a r a ct e r ist ics of Big Blu e st e m Gr a ss

7
 Hypot het ical
Exam ple of
Addit ive
Reflect ance
from A
Canopy wit h
Two Leaf
Layers

D ist r ibu t ion of Pix e ls in a Sce n e in

Re d a n d N e a r - in fr a r e d M u lt ispe ct r a l
Fe a t u r e Spa ce

8
 Re fle ct a n ce Re spon se of a
Sin gle M a gn olia Le a f
( M a gn olia gr a n diflor a ) t o
D e cr e a se d Re la t ive W a t e r Con t e n t

Air bor n e
Visible
I n fr a r e d
I m a gin g
Spe ct r om e t e r
( AVI RI S)
D a t a cu be of
Su lliva n ’s
I sla n d
Obt a in e d on
Oct obe r 2 6 ,
1998

9
I m a gin g Spe ct r om e t e r D a t a of H e a lt h y
Gr e e n Ve ge t a t ion in t h e Sa n Lu is
Va lle y of Color a do Obt a in e d on
Se pt e m be r 3 , 1 9 9 3 Usin g AVI RI S

224 channels each 10 nm wide wit h 20 x 20 m pixels

H ype r spe ct r a l
An a lysis of
AVI RI S D a t a
Obt a in e d on
Se pt e m be r 3 ,
1 9 9 3 of Sa n
Lu is Va lle y,
Color a do

10
Gon iom e t e r in Ope r a t ion a t
N or t h I n le t , SC

Rem ot e Sensing of Veget at ion

Tem poral
( Phenological
Phenological))
Charact erist ics

11
Pr e dict e d Pe r ce n t Clou d Cove r in
Fou r Ar e a s in t h e Un it e d St a t e s

Ph e n ologica l Cycle of H a r d Re d
W in t e r W h e a t in t h e Gr e a t Pla in s

Winter Wheat
Phenology

snow cover

SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG

crop establishment greening up heading mature Harvest

50 108 days 28 34 29 21
Dead
10 14 26 14 14 21 13 25 47 9 5
ripe
Sow Tillering Dormancy Growth Jointing Heading
Emergence resumes Boot Soft Hard dough
dough
Maximum Coverage

12
 Ph e n ologica l
Cycle s of Sa n
Joa qu in a n d
I m pe r ia l
Va lle y,
Ca lifor n ia
Cr ops a n d
La n dsa t
M u lt ispe ct r a l
Sca n n e r
I m a ge s of On e
Fie ld D u r in g A
Gr ow in g
Se a son

La n dsa t
Th e m a t ic
M a ppe r
I m a ge r y
m) m) m)
Band 1 (blue; 0.45
0 45 – 0.52
0 52m) Band 2 (green; 0.52
0 52 – 0.60
0 60m) Band 3 (red; 0.63
0 63 – 0.69
0 69m)
of t h e
I m pe r ia l
Va lle y,
Ca lifor n ia
Obt a in e d
Band 4 (near-infrared; 0.76 – 0.90m) Band 5 (mid-infrared; 1.55 – 1.75m) Band 7 (mid-infrared; 2.08 – 2.35m)
on
Landsat Thematic Mapper

feed
Imagery of
Imperial Valley, California,
D e ce m be r
lot
December 10, 1982
10, 1982
Sugarbeets Cotton
fl
Alfalfa Fallow

Band 6 (thermal infrared; 10.4 – 12.5m) Ground Reference

13
 La n dsa t
Th e m a t ic
M a ppe r Color
Com posit e s
and
Cla ssifica t ion
M a p of a
Por t ion of t h e
I m pe r ia l
Va lle y,
Ca lifor n ia

125
a.
Soybeans
100 Ph e n ologica l
Soybeans
75

50
100%
ground
Cycle s of
snow cover cover
25 cm height 50%
Soybe a n s
JAN FEB MAR APR

Dormant or multicropped
MAY JUN JUL

Initial growth Development

AUG SEP

Maturity
OCT NOV

Harvest
DEC
a n d Cor n in
300
b.
S th
Sou
250
Ca r olin a
Corn Corn
200

100%

150

125

100

75 50%

50
snow cover
25 cm height

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

12-14 Tassle
Dormant or multicropped 8-leaf Blister Dent/Harvest Dormant or multicropped
leaf
10 - 12leaf

14
100
a.
Winter Wheat
75

50 100%
snow cover
ground
Ph e n ologica l
25 cm

JAN FEB
50%

MAR APR
cover

MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Cycle s of
Tillering Jointing Booting Head Harvest Dormant or multicropped Seed W in t e r
150

125
Winter Wheat
Phenology Cotton
b. W heat,
100 Cot t on , a n d
75

50 50%
100%
ground
Toba cco in
snow cover cover
25 cm height
Sou t h
JAN FEB MAR APR

Dormant or multicropped
MAY JUN

Seeding
JUL AUG

Fruiting
SEP

Boll
OCT NOV

Maturity/harvest
DEC
Ca r olin a
Pre-bloom

125
c.
100

75
Tobacco
100%
50
snow cover 50%
25 cm height

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Dormant or multicropped Transplanting Development Maturity/harvest Dormant or multicropped

Topping

Ph e n ologica l Cycle of Ca t t a ils a n d

W a t e r lilie s in Pa r Pon d, S.C.

15
 Ph e n ologica l Cycle of Sm oot h Cor dgr a ss
( Spa r t in a a lt e r n iflor a ) Biom a ss in Sou t h Ca r olin a

1500 Smooth Cordgrass ( Spartina alterniflora )

Live Biomass
1250 Dead Biomass
Dry Weight Biomass, g/ m2

1000

750

500

250

0
J F M A M J J A S O N D

N in e Ba n ds of
3 x 3 m
Ca libr a t e d
Air bor n e
Band 1 (blue; 0.45 – 0.52 m) Band 2 (green; 0.52 – 0.60 m) Band 3 (red; 0.60 – 0.63 m)
M u lt ispe ct r a l
Sca n n e r
( CAM S) D a t a
of M u r r e lls
I n le t , SC
Band 4 (red; 0.63 – 0.69 m) Band 5 (near-infrared; 0.69 – 0.76 m) Band 6 (near-infrared; 0.76 – 0.90 m)
Obt a in e d on
Au gu st 2 ,
1997

Band 7 (mid-infrared; 1.55 – 1.75 m) Band 8 (mid-infrared; 2.08 – 2.35 m) Band 9 (thermal-infrared; 10.4 – 12.5 m)

16
Ca libr a t e d Air bor n e M u lt ispe ct r a l Sca n n e r D a t a of
M u r r e lls I n le t , S.C. Obt a in e d on Au gu st 2 , 1 9 9 7

Nat ural Color Masked and

Com posit e Cont rast St ret ched
( Bands 3,2,1 = RGB) Color Com posit e

Ca libr a t e d Air bor n e M u lt ispe ct r a l Sca n n e r D a t a of

M u r r e lls I n le t , S.C. Obt a in e d on Au gu st 2 , 1 9 9 7

Color I nfrared Masked and

Com posit e ( Bands Cont rast St ret ched
3,2,1 = RGB) Color Com posit e

17
18
 Rem ot e Sensing of Veget at ion

I nst rum ent s t o

st udy t he
V
Veget at ion
i

Spe ct r a l Re fle ct a n ce
radiometer M e a su r e m e n t u sin g
in backpack a Spe ct r or a diom e t e r

personal
computer

detector

19
 I n Sit u Ce pt om e t e r
Le a f- Ar e a - I n de x M e a su r e m e n t
• LAI m ay be com put ed using a Decagon Accupar
Cept o
om et er™
e t hat
at consist
co s st s of
o a linear
ea array
a ay of
o 80
adj acent 1 cm 2 phot osynt het ically act ive radiat ion ( PAR)
sensors along a bar.

• I ncident
id t sunlight
li ht above
b h canopy, Qa , and
t he d t he
h
am ount of direct solar energy incident t o t he
cept om et er, Qb , when it was laid at t he bot t om of t he
canopy direct ly on t he m ud is used t o com put e LAI .

20
 I n Sit u Ce pt om e t e r
Le a f- Ar e a - I n de x M e a su r e m e n t

Te m por a l Re solu t ion

21
 Re la t ion sh ip
Be t w e e n Ca libr a t e d
Air bor n e
M u lt ispe ct r a l
Sca n n e r ( CAM S)
Ba n d 6 Br igh g t n e ss
Va lu e s a n d in sit u
M e a su r e m e n t s of
Spa r t in a a lt e r n iflor a
Tot a l D r y Biom a ss
( g/ m 2 ) a t
2 7 Loca t ion s in
M u r r e lls I n le t , SC
Obt a in e d on A Au g gu st
2 and 3 , 1 9 9 7

N ASA Ca libr a t e d
Air bor ne
M u lt ispe ct r a l
Sca n n e r
I m a ge r y
( 3 x 3 m ) and
D e r ive d Biom a ss
CAMSBands 1,2,3 (RGB)
M a p of a Por t ion
CAMSBands 6,4,2 (RGB)
of M u r r e lls I n le t ,
Biomass in a Portion of Murrells
Inlet, SC Derived from 3 x 3 m Sou t h Ca r olin a
Calibrated Airborne Multispectral
Scanner (CAMS) Data Obtained on
August 2, 1997
on Au gu st 2 ,
Total Biomass (grams/m 2 )
1997
500 - 749
TM Bands 5,3,2 (RGB)
750 - 999
1000 - 1499

1500 - 1999
2000 - 2499

2500 - 2999

22
 Tot a l Above - gr ou n d
Biom a ss in M u r r e lls
I n le t , S. C.
Ex t r a ct e d fr om
Ca libr a t e d Air bor n e
M u lt ispe ct r a l
Sca n n e r D a t a on
Au gu st 2 , 1 9 9 7

Tot a l Biom a ss
( gr a m s/ m 2 )

500 - 749
750 - 999
1000 - 1499
1500 - 1999
2000 - 2499
2500 - 2999

Rem ot e Sensing of Veget at ion

I ndices of Veget at ion

based on t he
R fl
Reflect ance

23
 Sim ple Ra t io
Ve ge t a t ion I n de x
SR
The near- infrared ( NI R) t o red sim ple rat io ( SR) is t he first
t rue veget at ion index. I t t akes advant age of t he inverse
relat ionship bet ween chlorophyll absorpt ion of red radiant
energy and increased reflect ance of near- infrared energy
for healt hy plant canopies ( Cohen, 1991) .

SR 
NIR
Red

N ot ice t h a t t h is e qu a t ion is w r on g in t h e book !

N or m a lize d D iffe r e n ce
Ve ge t a t ion I n de x
N D VI
The generic norm alized difference veget at ion index ( NDVI ) has
provided a m et hod of est im at ing net prim ary product ion over
varying biom e t ypes ( e.g. Lenney et al., 1996) , ident ifying
ecoregions ( Ram sey et al., 1995) , m onit oring phenological
pat t erns of t he eart h’s veget at ive surface, and of assessing t he
lengt h of t he growing season and dry- down periods ( Huet e and
Li 1994) .
Liu,

NIR  red
NDVI 
NIR  red

24
GLOBAL N D VI

25
 GLOBAL N D VI I N 2 0 0 0

Adva n ce d Ve r y H igh Re solu t ion Ra diom e t e r

AVH RR

Ba n d W a ve le n gt h ( m m )
1 0 .5 8 - 0 .6 8
2 0 .7 2 - 1 .1 0
3 3 .5 5 - 3 .9 3
4 1 0 .5 - 1 1 .5
5 1 1 .5 - 1 2 .5

N or m a lize d D iffe r e n ce
Ve ge t a t ion I n de x ( N D VI )

26
27
 N D VI OF W ESTERN PR

I n fr a r e d I n de x
II
An I nfrared I ndex ( I I ) t hat incorporat es bot h near and m iddle-
i f
infrared
d bands
b d is i sensit i iive t o changes
h i plant
in l bi
biom ass and d wat er
st ress in sm oot h cordgrass st udies ( Hardisky et al., 1983;
1986) : Healt hy, m ono- specific st ands of t idal wet land such as
Spart ina oft en exhibit m uch lower reflect ance in t he visible ( blue,
green, and red) wavelengt hs t han t ypical t errest rial veget at ion
due t o t he sat urat ed t idal flat underst ory. I n effect , t he m oist soil
absorbs alm ost all energy incident t o it . This is why wet land oft en
appear surprisingly dark on t radit ional infrared color com posit es.

 MIR TM
II 
NIR TM
 MIR TM
4 5
NIR TM 4 5

28
 M oist u r e St r e ss I n de x
M SI
Rock et al. ( 1990) ut ilized a Moist ure St ress I ndex
( MSI ) : based on t he Landsat Them at ic Mapper near-
infrared and m iddle- infrared bands

MSI 
MidIR TM 5
NIR TM 4

Soil Adj u st e d Ve ge t a t ion I n de x

SAVI
Recent em phasis has been given t o t he developm ent of im proved
veget at ion indices t hat m ay t ake advant age of calibrat ed sensor
syst em s such as t he m oderat e resolut ion im aging spect rom et er -
MODI S ( Running et al., 1994) . The im proved indices incorporat e a
soil adj ust m ent fact or and/ or a blue band for at m ospheric
norm alizat ion. The soil adj ust ed veget at ion index ( SAVI ) int roduces
a soil ca libr a t ion fa ct or , L, t o t he NDVI equat ion t o m inim ize soil
background influences result ing from first order soil- plant spect ral
int eract ions ( Huet e et al., 1994) : An L value of 0.5 m inim izes soil
b i ht ness variat
bright i t iions andd elim
li iinatt es t he
h need
d forf addit
ddit ional
i l
calibrat ion for different soils ( Huet e and Liu, 1994) .

(1  L )( NIR  red )
SAVI 
NIR  red  L

29
 Soil a n d At m osph e r ica lly
Re sist a n t Ve ge t a t ion I n de x
SARVI
Huet e and Liu ( 1994) int egrat ed t he L funct ion from SAVI and a blue-
blue
band norm alizat ion t o derive a soil and at m ospherically resist ant
veget at ion index ( SARVI ) t hat correct s for bot h soil and at m ospheric
noise. The t echnique requires prior correct ion for m olecular scat t ering
and ozone absorpt ion of t he blue, red, and near- infrared rem ot e sensor
dat a, hence t he t erm p* .

p * nir  p * rb

p * nir  p * rb
SARVI

Where,

p * rb  p * red   ( p * blue  p * red )

En h a n ce d Ve ge t a t ion I n de x
EVI
The MODI S Land Discipline Group proposed t he Enhanced Veget at ion
I ndex ( EVI ) for use wit h MODI S Dat a.a The EVI is a m odified NDVI
wit h a soil adj ust m ent fact or, L, and t wo coefficient s, C1 and C2
which describe t he use of t he blue band in correct ion of t he red band
for at m soperhic aerosol scat t ering. The coefficient s, C1 , C2 , and L,
are em pirically det erm ined as 6.0, 7.5, and 1.0, respect ively. This
algorit hm has im proved sensit ivit y t o high biom ass regions and
im proved veget at ion m onit oring t horugh a de- coupling of t he canopy
background signal and a reduct ion in at m ospheric influences ( Huet e
and
a d Just
u ice,, 1999)
999) .

p * nir  p * red
EVI 
p * nir  C 1 p * red  C 2 p * blue  L

30
En h a n ce d Ve ge t a t ion I n de x
EVI

Th e En h a n ce d Ve ge t a t ion
I n de x ( EVI ) im pr ove s on t h e
ve n e r a ble N D VI . D e r ive d
f om stt a t e - of-
fr f the- art
sa t e llit e da t a pr ovide d by t h e
M OD I S in st r u m e n t , EV I
im pr ove s on N D VI 's spa t ia l
r e solu t ion , is m or e se n sit ive
t o diffe r e n ce s in h e a vily
ve ge t a t e d a r e a s ( a s se e n
h e r e in t h e Yu ca t a n
Pe n in su la ) , a n d be t t e r
cor r e ct s for a t m osph e r ic
h a z e a s w e ll a s t h e la n d
su r fa ce be n e a t h t h e
ve ge t a t ion . Ea r ly da t a fr om
M OD I S sh ow s t h e
diffe r e n ce s be t w e e n EVI a n d
N D VI .

La n dsca pe Ecology M e t r ics

31
TH E CARBON CYCLE

Geological Applications

32
 Heavy Metals Affecting
Vegetation

Developing a prot ocol t o use rem ot e

sensing as a cost effect ive t ool t o
m onit or cont am inat ion of m angrove
wet lands
Johannes H. Schellekens
Fernando Gilbes-
Gilbes-Santaella

33