星载激光雷达GLAS与TM光学遥感联合反演森林叶面积指数

通过对地球科学激光测高系统(Geoscience Laser Altimeter System,GLAS)波形数据进行高斯分解,提取精确的波形特征信息,计算出GLAS波形数据激光穿透指数(LPI),基于LPI提出GLAS数据反演叶面积指数(LAI)的新方法,建立了GLAS数据反演森林LAI的模型(R2=0.84,RMSE=0.64),并用留一交叉验证法(LOOCV)对反演模型的可靠性进行了验证,结果表明,该模型没有过度拟合,具有很好的泛化能力,最后通过人工神经网络融合GLAS与TM(Thematic Mapper,专题制图仪)遥感数据实现区域尺度森林LAI反演,用25个实测LAI对反演精度进行了验证,研究表明反演LAI与实测值较为接近,精度较高(R2=0.76,RMSE=0.69),为生态环境研究提供精确的输入参数,为GLAS数据大区域高精度LAI反演提供新的方法和思路.     

Integration of MODIS data into a simple model for the spatial distributed simulation of soil water content and evapotranspiration

A precise simulation of soil water content (SWC) and actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) in a region or a catchment depends on the accuracy of the spatial data inputs. In this study, we developed a simple grid-based soil water balance model. In this model, remotely sensed vegetation data are used to estimate spatial distributions of daily SWC and ET_a rates. The model was validated by comparing simulated SWC with the measured by gravimetric method and time domain reflectometry (TDR) at an experimental test site located in Northeastern Germany in the time period 1993-1998. The index of agreement IA and the root-mean-square error obtained from the comparison of the TDR measurements to the simulated values ranged from 0.45 to 0.80 and from 0.029 to 0.061 cm³/cm³, respectively. The comparison of simulated ET_a rates to those measured by four large-scale lysimeters at another test site showed IA values above 0.87 and R² values higher than 0.59. For the regional application of the model, a method was developed to integrate the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) vegetation data into the model. The MODIS data used in our study consist of 16-day normalized difference vegetation index and 8-day leaf area index products. Regarding the spatial application of the model, our approach was tested in a catchment located in Northeastern Germany in 2001-2003. A sufficient correlation between daily discharge rates measured at two observation gauges in the catchment and the corresponding simulated discharge rates and also good correlations between the simulated ET_a rates and the MODIS-leaf area index values indicate that the model is an appropriate simulation tool at regional scale if the corresponding additional spatial databases regarding surface and soil properties are available.     

NSST框架下结合局部自适应亮度与DCAPCNN的双波段图像融合

针对现有红外与可见光图像融合后,易出现边缘平滑严重、纹理细节恢复不足、对比度低、显著目标不突出、部分信息缺失等问题,提出一种基于非下采样剪切波变换(non-subsampled shearlet transform,NSST)的红外与可见光双波段图像融合算法。首先,采用基于自适应引导滤波(adaptive guided filter,AGF)的方法对源红外、可见光图像增强。其次,利用NSST正变换分别对源红外与可见光图像分解,得到红外、可见光图像的低、高频子带分量。然后,分别通过基于局部自适应亮度(local adaptive intensity,LAI)与双通道自适应脉冲耦合神经网络(dual channel adaptive pulse coupled neural network,DCAPCNN)规则融合低、高频子带分量。最后,通过NSST逆变换得到最终融合图像。实验结果表明,本文算法整体对比度更适宜,对红外热目标及可见光背景的边缘与纹理的细节恢复性更好,融合图像信噪比高,有效结合了红外及可见光图像的各自优势,与现有传统图像融合与深度学习融合算法相比,本文算法达到了更好的实验效果,在主观视觉感知和客观指标评价中均具有更好的融合性能。     

Spatially and temporally continuous LAI data sets based on an integrated filtering method: Examples from North America

Leaf Area Index (LAI) is an important biophysical variable for characterizing the land surface vegetation. Global LAI product has been routinely produced from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. However, the MODIS standard LAI product is not continuous both spatially and temporally. To fill the gaps and improve the quality, we have developed a data filtering algorithm. This filter, called the temporal spatial filter (TSF), integrates both spatial and temporal characteristics for different plant functional types. The spatial gaps are first filled with the multi-year averages of the same day. If the values are missing over all years, the pixel is filled with a new estimate using the vegetation continuous field-ecosystem curve fitting method. The TSF integrates both the multi-seasonal average trend (background) and the seasonal observation. We implement this algorithm using the MODIS Collection 4 LAI product over North America. Comparison of the TSF results with the Savitzky-Golay filter indicates that the TSF performs much better in restoring the spatial and temporal distribution of seasonal LAI trends. The new LAI product has been validated by comparing with field measurements and the derived LAI maps from ETM+ data at a broadleaf forest site and an agricultural site. The validation results indicate that the new LAI product agrees better with both the field measurements and LAI values obtained from the ETM+ than does the MODIS LAI standard product, which usually shows higher LAI values.     

Seasonal variations of leaf area index of agricultural fields retrieved from Landsat data

The derivation of leaf area index (LAI) from satellite optical data has been the subject of a large amount of work. In contrast, few papers have addressed the effective model inversion of high resolution satellite images for a complete series of data for the various crop species in a given region. The present study is focused on the assessment of a LAI model inversion approach applied to multitemporal optical data, over an agricultural region having various crop types with different crop calendars. Both the inversion approach and data sources are chosen because of their wide use. Crops in the study region (Barrax, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) include: cereal, corn, alfalfa, sugar beet, onion, garlic, papaver. Some of the crop types (onion, garlic, papaver) have not been addressed in previous studies. We use in-situ measurement sets and literature values as a priori data in the PROSPECT + SAIL models to produce Look Up Tables (LUTs). Those LUTs are subsequently used to invert Landsat-TM and Landsat-ETM+ image series (12 dates from March to September 2003). The Look Up Tables are adapted to different crop types, identified on the images by ground survey and by Landsat classification. The retrieved LAI values are compared to in-situ measurements available from the campaign conducted in mid July-2003. Very good agreement (a high linear correlation) is obtained for LAI values from 0.1 to 6.0. LAI maps are then produced for each of the 12 dates. The LAI temporal variation shows consistency with the crop phenological stages. The inversion method is favourably compared to a method relying on the empirical relationship between LAI and NDVI from Landsat data. This offers perspectives for future optical satellite data that will ensure high resolution and high temporal frequency.     

On the relationship of NDVI with leaf area index in a deciduous forest site

Numerous studies have reported on the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI), but the seasonal and annual variability of this relationship has been less explored. This paper reports a study of the NDVI-LAI relationship through the years from 1996 to 2001 at a deciduous forest site. Six years of LAI patterns from the forest were estimated using a radiative transfer model with input of above and below canopy measurements of global radiation, while NDVI data sets were retrieved from composite NDVI time series of various remote sensing sources, namely NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR; 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000), SPOT VEGETATION (1998-2001), and Terra MODIS (2001). Composite NDVI was first used to remove the residual noise based on an adjusted Fourier transform and to obtain the NDVI time-series for each day during each year.The results suggest that the NDVI-LAI relationship can vary both seasonally and inter-annually in tune with the variations in phenological development of the trees and in response to temporal variations of environmental conditions. Strong linear relationships are obtained during the leaf production and leaf senescence periods for all years, but the relationship is poor during periods of maximum LAI, apparently due to the saturation of NDVI at high values of LAI. The NDVI-LAI relationship was found to be poor (R² varied from 0.39 to 0.46 for different sources of NDVI) when all the data were pooled across the years, apparently due to different leaf area development patterns in the different years. The relationship is also affected by background NDVI, but this could be minimized by applying relative NDVI.Comparisons between AVHRR and VEGETATION NDVI revealed that these two had good linear relationships (R²=0.74 for 1998 and 0.63 for 2000). However, VEGETATION NDVI data series had some unreasonably high values during beginning and end of each year period, which must be discarded before adjusted Fourier transform processing. MODIS NDVI had values greater than 0.62 through the entire year in 2001, however, MODIS NDVI still showed an “M-shaped” pattern as observed for VEGETATION NDVI in 2001. MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) was the only index that exhibited a poor linear relationship with LAI during the leaf senescence period in year 2001. The results suggest that a relationship established between the LAI and NDVI in a particular year may not be applicable in other years, so attention must be paid to the temporal scale when applying NDVI-LAI relationships.     

A hybrid inversion method for mapping leaf area index from MODIS data: experiments and application to broadleaf and needleleaf canopies

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important variable needed by various land surface process models. It has been produced operationally from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data using a look-up table (LUT) method, but the inversion accuracy still needs significant improvements. We propose an alternative method in this study that integrates both the radiative transfer (RT) simulation and nonparametric regression methods. Two nonparametric regression methods (i.e., the neural network [NN] and the projection pursuit regression [PPR]) were examined. An integrated database was constructed from radiative transfer simulations tuned for two broad biome categories (broadleaf and needleleaf vegetations). A new soil reflectance index (SRI) and analytically simulated leaf optical properties were used in the parameterization process. This algorithm was tested in two sites, one at Maryland, USA, a middle latitude temperate agricultural area, and the other at Canada, a boreal forest site, and LAI was accurately estimated. The derived LAI maps were also compared with those from MODIS science team and ETM+ data. The MODIS standard LAI products were found consistent with our results for broadleaf crops, needleleaf forest, and other cover types, but overestimated broadleaf forest by 2.0-3.0 due to the complex biome types.     

Parametric (modified least squares) and non-parametric (Theil-Sen) linear regressions for predicting biophysical parameters in the presence of measurement errors

Remote sensing often involves the estimation of in situ quantities from remote measurements. Linear regression, where there are no non-linear combinations of regressors, is a common approach to this prediction problem in the remote sensing community. A review of recent remote sensing articles using univariate linear regression indicates that in the majority of cases, ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regression has been applied, with approximately half the articles using the in situ observations as regressors and the other half using the inverse regression with remote measurements as regressors. OLS implicitly assume an underlying normal structural data model to arrive at unbiased estimates of the response. OLS regression can be a biased predictor in the presence of measurement errors when the regression problem is based on a functional rather than structural data model. Parametric (Modified Least Squares) and non-parametric (Theil-Sen) consistent predictors are given for linear regression in the presence of measurement errors together with analytical approximations of their prediction confidence intervals. Three case studies involving estimation of leaf area index from nadir reflectance estimates are used to compare these unbiased estimators with OLS linear regression. A comparison to Geometric Mean regression, a standardized version of Reduced Major Axis regression, is also performed. The Theil-Sen approach is suggested as a potential replacement of OLS for linear regression in remote sensing applications. It offers simplicity in computation, analytical estimates of confidence intervals, robustness to outliers, testable assumptions regarding residuals and requires limited a priori information regarding measurement errors.     

Comparison of the influence factors on NDVI for CCD camera and WFI imager on CBERS-02

China Brazil Earth Resources Satellites (CBERS) have many payloads, among them there are a high resolution Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Camera and the Wide Field Image (WFI). CCD’s spatial resolution in nadir is 19.5 meters and its swath width is 113 kilometers. It has 4 wave bands and a panchromatic wave band in visible and near infra- red spectral band. Side looking is one of the main functions of CCD and the side looking range is ±32°. WFI has one visible band and one near inf…     

An interpolation procedure for generalizing a look-up table inversion method

The inversion of physically based reflectance models is increasingly efficient for extracting vegetation variables from remote sensing images. It requires a vegetation reflectance model and an inversion method that are accurate and efficient. Usually, the complexity of reflectance models implies to use specific inversion methods (e.g., look-up table and neural network). Unfortunately, these methods are valid only for the view-sun directions for which they are designed. A developed look-up table based inversion method avoids this limitation: it generalizes any look-up table for any view-sun direction, and more generally for any input parameter value. It uses a look-up table made of c_i coefficients of any analytical expression h that fits a set of reflectance values simulated by the Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) model. Interpolation on coefficients c_i allows h to give reflectance values for any input parameter value. We settled some options of the inversion method with sensitivity studies: tree covers are simulated with 4-tree scenes, expression h has six coefficients c_i and the interpolation is the continuous first derivative interpolation method. Moreover, the robustness of the inversion method was validated. The ability to generalize a look-up table for any view-sun direction was successfully tested with the inversion of SPOT images of Fontainebleau (France) forest. LAI maps proved to be as accurate (i.e., RMSE≈1.3) as those obtained with classical relationships that are calibrated with in situ LAI measurements. Here, the advantage of our inversion method was to avoid this calibration.