Natural Resources, School of
Date of this Version
2006
Abstract
Leaf pigment content and composition provide important information about plant physiological status. Reflectance measurements offer a rapid, nondestructive technique to estimate pigment content. This paper describes a recently developed three-band conceptual model capable of remotely estimating total of chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins contents in leaves from many tree and crop species. We tuned the spectral regions used in the model in accord with pigment of interest and the optical characteristics of the leaves studied, and showed that the developed technique allowed accurate estimation of total chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins, explaining more than 91%, 70% and 93% of pigment variation, respectively. This new technique shows a great potential for noninvasive tracking of the physiological status of vegetation and the impact of environmental changes.
Comments
Published in Geophysical Research Letters (2006) 33 (L11402), 5 p. DOI: 10.1029/2006GL026457. Copyright 2006, American Geophysical Union. Used by permission.