Abstract
Medium resolution leaf area index (LAI) products have usually been validated only at the peak of the growing season for boreal forest areas. In this study, we evaluated seasonal variations in MODIS Collection 5 (C5) LAI products for an evergreen coniferous forest area in southern Finland. A time series of field measurements of LAI and nine fine resolution satellite images (SPOT4 HRVIR, EO-1 Hyperion) for the snow free period in 2010 were used for developing empirical regression models for LAI estimation. We used two different reference LAI: the first one corresponded to an effective overstory LAI, and the second one was a clumping-corrected LAI that included both over- and understory vegetation. According to the results, MODIS LAI retrievals were closer to the effective LAI in the spring and autumn, when saturation of MODIS LAI main algorithm did not occur. On the other hand, in the summer, when saturation occurred, MODIS LAI was closer to the total LAI. Therefore, as a result of high LAI retrieved under the condition of saturation, the seasonal course of LAI was exaggerated in comparison to the reference LAI time series. Furthermore, MODIS LAI retrievals were unrealistically small before the leaf burst if considering the large proportion of evergreen coniferous forest in the study area. The results emphasize the need for multi-seasonal validation data sets in order to better understand the performance of LAI retrieval algorithms for evergreen coniferous forests throughout the snow free period.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 104-115 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Remote Sensing of Environment |
| Volume | 126 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2012 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
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Keywords
- Conifer
- Evergreen needleleaf
- Leaf area index
- Vegetation index
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Seasonal variation in MODIS LAI for a boreal forest area in Finland. / Heiskanen, Janne; Rautiainen, Miina; Stenberg, Pauline; Mõttus, Matti; Vesanto, Veli Heikki; Korhonen, Lauri; Majasalmi, Titta.
In: Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 126, 01.11.2012, p. 104-115.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal variation in MODIS LAI for a boreal forest area in Finland
AU - Heiskanen, Janne
AU - Rautiainen, Miina
AU - Stenberg, Pauline
AU - Mõttus, Matti
AU - Vesanto, Veli Heikki
AU - Korhonen, Lauri
AU - Majasalmi, Titta
PY - 2012/11/1
Y1 - 2012/11/1
N2 - Medium resolution leaf area index (LAI) products have usually been validated only at the peak of the growing season for boreal forest areas. In this study, we evaluated seasonal variations in MODIS Collection 5 (C5) LAI products for an evergreen coniferous forest area in southern Finland. A time series of field measurements of LAI and nine fine resolution satellite images (SPOT4 HRVIR, EO-1 Hyperion) for the snow free period in 2010 were used for developing empirical regression models for LAI estimation. We used two different reference LAI: the first one corresponded to an effective overstory LAI, and the second one was a clumping-corrected LAI that included both over- and understory vegetation. According to the results, MODIS LAI retrievals were closer to the effective LAI in the spring and autumn, when saturation of MODIS LAI main algorithm did not occur. On the other hand, in the summer, when saturation occurred, MODIS LAI was closer to the total LAI. Therefore, as a result of high LAI retrieved under the condition of saturation, the seasonal course of LAI was exaggerated in comparison to the reference LAI time series. Furthermore, MODIS LAI retrievals were unrealistically small before the leaf burst if considering the large proportion of evergreen coniferous forest in the study area. The results emphasize the need for multi-seasonal validation data sets in order to better understand the performance of LAI retrieval algorithms for evergreen coniferous forests throughout the snow free period.
AB - Medium resolution leaf area index (LAI) products have usually been validated only at the peak of the growing season for boreal forest areas. In this study, we evaluated seasonal variations in MODIS Collection 5 (C5) LAI products for an evergreen coniferous forest area in southern Finland. A time series of field measurements of LAI and nine fine resolution satellite images (SPOT4 HRVIR, EO-1 Hyperion) for the snow free period in 2010 were used for developing empirical regression models for LAI estimation. We used two different reference LAI: the first one corresponded to an effective overstory LAI, and the second one was a clumping-corrected LAI that included both over- and understory vegetation. According to the results, MODIS LAI retrievals were closer to the effective LAI in the spring and autumn, when saturation of MODIS LAI main algorithm did not occur. On the other hand, in the summer, when saturation occurred, MODIS LAI was closer to the total LAI. Therefore, as a result of high LAI retrieved under the condition of saturation, the seasonal course of LAI was exaggerated in comparison to the reference LAI time series. Furthermore, MODIS LAI retrievals were unrealistically small before the leaf burst if considering the large proportion of evergreen coniferous forest in the study area. The results emphasize the need for multi-seasonal validation data sets in order to better understand the performance of LAI retrieval algorithms for evergreen coniferous forests throughout the snow free period.
KW - Conifer
KW - Evergreen needleleaf
KW - Leaf area index
KW - Vegetation index
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865767453&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.rse.2012.08.001
DO - 10.1016/j.rse.2012.08.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84865767453
VL - 126
SP - 104
EP - 115
JO - Remote Sensing of Environment
JF - Remote Sensing of Environment
SN - 0034-4257
ER -