Retrieval of biophysical vegetation parameters using simultaneous inversion of high resolution remote sensing imagery constrained by a vegetation index

This study proposes a new method for inverting radiative transfer models to retrieve canopy biophysical parameters using remote sensing imagery. The inversion procedure is improved with respect to standard inversion, and achieves simultaneous inversion of leaf area index (LAI), soil reflectance (ρ_soil), chlorophyll content (C_a+b) and average leaf angle (ALA). In this approach, LAI is used to constrain modelling conditions during the inversion process, providing information about the phenological state of each plot under study. Due to the small area of the vegetation plots used for the inversion procedure and in order to avoid redundant information and improve computation efficiency, existing plot segmentation was used. All retrieved biophysical parameters, except LAI, were assumed to be invariant within each plot. The proposed methodology, based on the combination of PROSPECT and SAILH models, was tested over 16 cereal fields and 51 plots, on two dates, which were chosen to ensure crop assessment at different phenological stages. Plots were selected to provide a wide range of LAI between 0 and 6. Field measurements of LAI, ALA and C_a+b were conducted and used as ground truth for validation of the proposed model-inversion methodology. The approach was applied to very high spatial resolution remote sensing data from the QuickBird 2 satellite. The inversion procedure was successfully applied to the imagery and retrieved LAI with R ² = 0.83 and RMSE = 0.63 when compared to LAI2000 ground measurements. Separate inversions for barley and wheat yielded R ² = 0.89 (RMSE = 0.64) and R ² = 0.56 (RMSE = 0.61), respectively.     

Estimation of water productivity in winter wheat using the AquaCrop model with field hyperspectral data

Water productivity (WP) is a key element of agricultural water management in agricultural irrigated regions. The objectives of this study were: (i) to estimate biomass of winter wheat using spectral indices; (ii) integrate the estimation of biomass data with the AquaCrop model using a lookup table for higher accuracy biomass simulation; (iii) show estimation accuracy of the data assimilation method in yield and WP. Spectral variables and concurrent biomass, yield and WP of samples were acquired at the Xiaotangshan experimental site in Beijing, China, during the 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 winter wheat growing seasons. The results showed that all spectral indices had a highly significant relationship with biomass, especially normalized difference matter index, with R² and RMSE values of 0.84 and 1.43 t/ha, respectively. Simulation of biomass and yield by the AquaCrop model were in good agreement with the measured biomass and yield of winter wheat. The results showed that the data assimilation method (R² = 0.79 and RMSE = 0.12 kg/m³) could be used to estimate WP. The result indicated that the AquaCrop model could be used to estimate yield and WP with the aid of remote sensing for improving agricultural water resources management.     

基于随机森林算法的冬小麦叶面积指数遥感反演研究

【目的】通过利用随机森林算法（random forest,RF）反演冬小麦叶面积指数（leaf area index, LAI）,及时、准确地监测冬小麦长势状况,为作物田间管理和产量估测等提供科学依据。【方法】本研究依据冬小麦拔节期、挑旗期、开花期及灌浆期地面观测数据,将相关系数分析（correlation coefficient,r）和袋外数据（out-of-bag data,OOB）重要性分析与随机森林算法（random forest,RF）相结合,在优选光谱指数和确定最佳自变量个数的基础上,构建了两种冬小麦LAI反演模型|r|-RF和OOB-RF,并利用独立数据集对两种模型进行验证;然后,将所建LAI反演模型用于无人机高光谱影像,进一步检验所建模型对无人机低空遥感平台的适用性和可靠性。【结果】|r|-RF和OOB-RF反演模型分别采用相关性前5强、重要性前2强的光谱指数作为输入因子时精度最优,验证决定系数（R²）分别为0.805、0.899,均方根误差（RMSE）分别为0.431、0.307,表明这两个模型均能对作物LAI进行精确反演,其中OOB-RF模型的反演效果更好。利用无人机高光谱影像数据结合OOB-RF估算模型反演得到冬小麦LAI与地面实测值的拟合方程的决定系数R²为0.761,RMSE为0.320,数值范围（1.02-6.41）与地面实测（1.29-6.81）亦比较吻合。【结论】本文基于地面数据构建的OOB-RF模型不仅具有较高的反演精度,而且适用性强,可用于无人机高光谱遥感平台提取高精度的冬小麦LAI信息。     

Identification of yellow rust in wheat using in-situ spectral reflectance measurements and airborne hyperspectral imaging

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the spectro-optical, photochemical reflectance index (PRI) for quantifying the disease index (DI) of yellow rust (Biotroph Puccinia striiformis) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and its applicability in the detection of the disease using hyperspectral imagery. Over two successive seasons, canopy reflectance spectra and disease index (DI) were measured five times during the growth of wheat plants (3 varieties) infected with varying amounts of yellow rust. Airborne hyperspectral images of the field site were also acquired in the second season. The PRI exhibited a significant, negative, linear, relationship with DI in the first season (r ² = 0.91, n = 64), which was insensitive to both variety and stage of crop development from Zadoks stage 3–9. Application of the PRI regression equation to measured spectral data in the second season yielded a coefficient of determination of r ² = 0.97 (n = 80). Application of the same PRI regression equation to airborne hyperspectral imagery in the second season also yielded a coefficient of determination of DI of r ² = 0.91 (n = 120). The results show clearly the potential of PRI for quantifying yellow rust levels in winter wheat, and as the basis for developing a proximal, or airborne/spaceborne imaging sensor of yellow rust in fields of winter wheat.     

Use of hyperspectral data to assess the effects of different nitrogen applications on a potato crop

This study was conducted to explore whether hyperspectral data could be used to discriminate between the effects of different rates of nitrogen application to a potato crop. The field experiment was carried out in the Central Potato Research Station, Jalandhar, on seven plots with different nitrogen (N) treatments. Spectral reflectance was measured using a 512-channel spectroradiometer with a range of 395–1075 nm on two different dates during crop growth. An optimum number of bands were selected from this range based on band–band r ², principal component analysis and discriminant analysis. The four bands that could discriminate between the rates of N applied were 560, 650, 730, and 760 nm. An ANOVA analysis of several narrow-band indices calculated from the reflectance values showed the indices that were able to differentiate best between the different rates of N application. These were reflectance ratio at the red edge (R_740/720) and the structure insensitive pigment index (SIPI). To estimate leaf N, reflectance ratios were determined for each band combination and were evaluated for their correlation with the leaf N content. A regression model for N estimation was obtained using the reflectance ratio indices at 750 and 710 nm wavelengths (F-ratio = 32 and r ² = 0.551, P < 0.000).     

基于冠层反射光谱的冬小麦干物质积累量的估测研究

[目的]分析了小麦光谱特征与干物质积累量的相关关系。[方法]通过对冬小麦不同品种的干物质积累量、叶面积等参数和冬小麦冠层光谱反射率、光谱一阶微分和光谱比值植被指数(RVI)的相关分析,确立了冬小麦干物质积累量的敏感波段,并建立了预测模型。[结果]开花期350~700 nm和1 420~1 520 nm冠层光谱反射率和灌浆期350~1 750 nm冠层光谱反射率分别与干物质积累量显著相关;比值植被指数RVI(560,1220)与干物质积累量的相关性较好;确立的冬小麦干物质积累量预测模型为:干物质积累量=-186.94×RVI(560,1220)-2 242.2(R2=0.713 8),说明通过遥感手段监测冬小麦的群体质量是可行的。[结论]该研究为高光谱遥感技术在监测小麦的群体质量的应用提供参考依据。     

基于高光谱遥感的冬小麦叶水势估算模型

【目的】采用高光谱技术,建立快速、无损与准确获取冬小麦叶水势的估算模型,为小麦灌溉的精确管理提供科学依据。【方法】利用不同水分处理的大田试验,于小麦主要生育期同步测定冠层光谱反射率、叶水势、土壤水分等信息,并探讨高光谱植被指数与冬小麦叶水势之间的定量关系。通过相关性分析、回归分析等方法,基于不同水分处理,构建4种植被指数与冬小麦叶水势的估算模型。【结果】不同水分处理和不同生育期的冬小麦,其冠层光谱反射率具有显著的变化特征。在可见光波段,冬小麦冠层反射率随着水分含量的增加而逐渐降低,而在近红外波段,其冠层反射率则随着土壤水分含量的增加而升高。随着小麦生育期的推进,在近红外波段,抽穗期的冠层反射率比拔节期的高,在灌浆期之后,红波段(670 nm)、蓝波段(450 nm)的反射率上升加快;4种植被指数与叶水势显著相关(P0.05),相关系数|r|均在0.711以上,四者均可用于冬小麦叶片水势的定量监测。在充分供水条件下(70%FC),植被指数OSAVI和EVI2与叶水势的相关系数|r|(分别为0.75和0.771)均低于植被指数NDVI和RVI与叶水势的相关系数|r|(分别为0.808和0.896),而在重度水分亏缺条件下(50%FC),植被指数OSAVI和EVI2与叶水势的相关系数|r|(分别为0.857和0.853)均高于植被指数NDVI和RVI与叶水势的相关系数|r|(分别为0.711和0.792);所建模型对45个未知样的预测结果与实测值相似度较高,其回归模型R~2、验证模型MRE、RMSE的范围分别为0.616—0.922、-17.50%—-12.52%、0.102—0.133。在70%FC水分处理下,基于EVI2(enhanced vegetation index)所得叶水势估算模型的R~2最高,为0.922,而在60%FC和50%FC水分处理下,由于考虑了土壤背景的影响,基于OSAVI所建模型的R~2最高,分别为0.922和0.856。【结论】4种植被指数均可用于冬小麦叶水势的定量监测。但是,在构建不同水分处理的叶水势估算模型时,应考虑土壤背景对冠层光谱的影响。研究结果可以为小麦精准灌溉管理提供技术依据,为星载数据的参数反演提供模型支持。     

基于新型植被指数的冬小麦LAI高光谱反演

【目的】本研究旨在分析冠层叶片水分含量对作物冠层光谱的影响,构建新型光谱指数来提高作物叶面积指数高光谱反演的精度。【方法】在冬小麦水肥交叉试验的支持下,分析不同筋性品种、施氮量、灌溉量处理下的冬小麦叶面积指数冠层光谱响应特征,并分析标准化差分红边指数(NDRE)、水分敏感指数(WI)与叶面积指数的相关性,据此构建一个新型的植被指数——红边抗水植被指数(red-edge resistance water vegetable index,RRWVI)。选取常用的植被指数作为参照,分析RRWVI对于冬小麦多个关键生育期叶面积指数的诊断能力,随机选取约2/3的实测样本建立基于各种植被指数的叶面积指数高光谱响应模型,未参与建模的样本用于评价模型精度。【结果】研究结果表明,随着生育期的推进,冬小麦的叶面积指数呈先增加后降低的变化趋势,不同的水肥处理对冬小麦叶面积指数具有较大影响。开花期之后冬小麦LAI显著下降,强筋小麦(藁优2018)在整个生育期叶面积指数均高于中筋小麦(济麦22);不同氮水平下冬小麦冠层光谱反射率在近红外波段(720—1 350 nm)随着施氮量的增加而增大,与氮肥梯度完全一致,其中2倍氮肥处理的近红外反射率达到最高;不同生育期下冬小麦冠层光谱反射率变化波形大体一致;各个关键生育期的NDRE和WI均存在较高的相关性,而NDRE与LAI的相关性明显优于WI,新构建的植被指数RRWVI与LAI的相关性均优于NDRE、WI;虽然8个常用的植被指数均与LAI存在显著相关,但RRWVI与LAI相关性达到最大,其拟合曲线的决定系数R2为0.86。【结论】通过分析各种指数所构建的冬小麦叶面积指数高光谱反演模型,新构建的RRWVI取得了比NDRE、NDVI等常用植被指数更为可靠的反演效果,说明本研究新构建的红边抗水植被指数可有效提高冬小麦叶面积指数的精度。     

Crop height variability detection in a single field by multi-temporal terrestrial laser scanning

Information on crop height, crop growth and biomass distribution is important for crop management and environmental modelling. For the determination of these parameters, terrestrial laser scanning in combination with real-time kinematic GPS (RTK–GPS) measurements was conducted in a multi-temporal approach in two consecutive years within a single field. Therefore, a time-of-flight laser scanner was mounted on a tripod. For georeferencing of the point clouds, all eight to nine positions of the laser scanner and several reflective targets were measured by RTK–GPS. The surveys were carried out three to four times during the growing periods of 2008 (sugar-beet) and 2009 (mainly winter barley). Crop surface models were established for every survey date with a horizontal resolution of 1 m, which can be used to derive maps of plant height and plant growth. The detected crop heights were consistent with observations from panoramic images and manual measurements (R² = 0.53, RMSE = 0.1 m). Topographic and soil parameters were used for statistical analysis of the detected variability of crop height and significant correlations were found. Regression analysis (R² < 0.31) emphasized the uncertainty of basic relations between the selected parameters and crop height variability within one field. Likewise, these patterns compared with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from satellite imagery show only minor significant correlations (r < 0.44).     

冬小麦遥感估产多种模型研究

综合冬小麦地面光谱资料及相应的农学参数资料,ＮＯＡＡ／ＡＶＨＲＲ 资料,历年各县冬小麦单产、播种面积、总产资料,历年新疆各站气象资料,监测点历年冬小麦发育期、密度、产量分析等资料,证明地面光谱植被指数与冬小麦密度、生物量、叶面积指数关系密切,从而建立了密度与生物量的光谱监测模型,进而建立了北疆试验区各层冬小麦种植面积估算和产量预报卫星遥感模型,辅以冬小麦产量农业气象预报模型、农学模型及模拟模型,自１９９４ 年投入应用以来的结果表明,这套模型预报精度高、效果很好     

Developing a new Crop Circle active canopy sensor-based precision nitrogen management strategy for winter wheat in North China Plain

Active canopy sensor (ACS)—based precision nitrogen (N) management (PNM) is a promising strategy to improve crop N use efficiency (NUE). The GreenSeeker (GS) sensor with two fixed bands has been applied to improve winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) N management in North China Plain (NCP). The Crop Circle (CC) ACS-470 active sensor is user configurable with three wavebands. The objective of this study was to develop a CC ACS-470 sensor-based PNM strategy for winter wheat in NCP and compare it with GS sensor-based N management strategy, soil N_min test-based in-season N management strategy and conventional farmer’s practice. Four site-years of field N rate experiments were conducted from 2009 to 2013 to identify optimum CC vegetation indices for estimating early season winter wheat plant N uptake (PNU) and grain yield in Quzhou Experiment Station of China Agricultural University located in Hebei province of NCP. Another nine on-farm experiments were conducted at three different villages in Quzhou County in 2012/2013 to evaluate the performance of the developed N management strategy. The results indicated that the CC ACS-470 sensor could significantly improve estimation of early season PNU (R² = 0.78) and grain yield (R² = 0.62) of winter wheat over GS sensor (R² = 0.60 and 0.33, respectively). All three in-season N management strategies achieved similar grain yield as compared with farmer’s practice. The three PNM strategies all significantly reduced N application rates and increased N partial factor productivity (PFP) by an average of 61–67 %. It is concluded that the CC sensor can improve estimation of early season winter wheat PNU and grain yield as compared to the GS sensor, but the PNM strategies based on these two sensors perform equally well for improving winter wheat NUE in NCP. More studies are needed to further develop and evaluate these active sensor-based PNM strategies under more diverse on-farm conditions.     

Crop water status assessment in controlled environment using crop reflectance and temperature measurements

Crop water status is an important parameter for plant growth and yield performance in greenhouses. Thus, early detection of water stress is essential for efficient crop management. The dynamic response of plants to changes of their environment is called ‘speaking plant’ and multisensory platforms for remote sensing measurements offer the possibility to monitor in real-time the crop health status without affecting the crop and environmental conditions. Therefore, aim of this work was to use crop reflectance and temperature measurements acquired remotely for crop water status assessment. Two different irrigation treatments were imposed in tomato plants grown in slabs filed with perlite, namely tomato plants under no irrigation for a certain period; and well-watered plants. The plants were grown in a controlled growth chamber and measurements were carried out during August and September of 2014. Crop reflectance measurements were carried out by two types of sensors: (i) a multispectral camera measuring the radiation reflected in three spectral bands centred between 590–680, 690–830 and 830–1000 nm regions, and (ii) a spectroradiometer measuring the leaf reflected radiation from 350 to 2500 nm. Based on the above measurements several crop indices were calculated. The results showed that crop reflectance increased due to water deficit with the detected reflectance increase being significant about 8 h following irrigation withholding. The results of a first derivative analysis on the reflectance data showed that the spectral regions centred at 490–510, 530–560, 660–670 and 730–760 nm could be used for crop status monitoring. In addition, the results of the present study point out that sphotochemical reflectance index, modified red simple ratio index and modified ratio normalized difference vegetation index could be used as an indicator of plant water stress, since their values were correlated well with the substrate water content and the crop water stress index; the last being extensively used for crop water status assessment in greenhouses and open field. Thus, it could be concluded that reflectance and crop temperature measurements might be combined to provide alarm signals when crop water status reaches critical levels for optimal plant growth.     

Using optimal combination method and in situ hyperspectral measurements to estimate leaf nitrogen concentration in barley

Leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC), a good indicator of nitrogen (N) status in crops, is of special significance to diagnose nutrient stress and guide N fertilization in fields. Due to non-destructive and quick detectability, hyperspectral remote sensing plays a unique role in detecting LNC in crops. Barley, especially malting barley, is very demanding for N nutrition and requires timely monitoring and accurate estimation of N concentration in barley leaves. Hyperspectral techniques can help make effective diagnosis and facilitate dynamic regulation of plant N status. In this study, canopy reflectance spectra (between 350 and 1 050 nm) from 38 typical barley fields were measured as well as the corresponding LNC in Hailar Nongken, China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in July, 2010. Existing spectral indices that are considered to be good indicators for assessing N status in crops were selected to estimate LNC in barley. In addition, the optimal combination (OC) method was tested to extract the sensitive indices and first-order spectral derivative wavebands that are responsible for variation of leaf N in barley, and expected to develop some combination models for improving the accuracy of LNC estimates. The results showed that most of the selected indices (such as NPCI, PRI and DCNI) could adequately describe the dynamic changes of LNC in barley. The combined models based on OC performed better in comparison with the individual models using either spectral indices or first-order derivatives and the other methods (such as PCA). A combined model that integrated the first-order derivatives from five wavebands with OC performed well with R ² of 0.82 and RMSE of 0.50 for LNC in barley. This good correlation with ground measurements indicates that hyperspectral reflectance and the OC method have good potential for assessing N status in barley.     

Measuring crop status using multivariate analysis of hyperspectral field reflectance with application to disease severity and plant density

Using spectral reflectance to estimate crop status is a method suitable for developing sensors for site-specific agricultural applications. When developing spectral analysis methods, it is important to know the influence of different crop parameters on the spectral reflectance profile. The objective of this report was to present and evaluate a multivariate method for objective hyperspectral analysis in the examination of how different parts of the reflectance spectrum are affected by disease severity and above ground plant density. Data from two field experiments were used; fungal disease severity assessments in wheat 1998 and above ground plant density measurements 2003. The analysis method consisted of two steps: a pre-processing step where the data was normalized and a classification step for estimating the crop variable. Using only 12% of the data as training data, the method resulted in coefficients of determination (R ²) of 94.3% for the disease severity data and 96.9% for the plant density data. The hyperspectral analysis method presented could also be used to extract spectral signatures of disease severity and plant density using the experimental data. In general, two types of spectral signatures for both data sets, with respect to increasing disease severity and decreasing plant density, were observed (1) a flattening of the green reflectance peak together with a general decrease in reflectance in the near infrared region and, (2) a decrease of the shoulder of the near infrared reflectance plateau together with a general increase in the visible region between 550 and 750 nm.     

Analysis of spectral difference between the foreside and backside of leaves in yellow rust disease detection for winter wheat

Disease detection by means of hyperspectral reflectance is inevitably influenced by the spectral difference between foreside (adaxial surface) and backside (abaxial surface) of a leaf. Taking yellow rust disease in winter wheat as an example, the spectral differences between the foreside and backside of healthy and diseased wheat leaves at both jointing stage and grain filling stage were investigated based on spectral measurements with a large sample size. The spectral difference between leaf orientations was found to be confused with disease signals to some extent. Firstly, the original bands and spectral features (SFs) that were sensitive to the disease were identified through a correlation analysis. Then, to eliminate the influence of leaf orientation, a pairwise t test was used to screen for the orientation insensitive bands and SFs. By conducting an overlapping procedure, the bands/SFs that were sensitive to the disease yet insensitive to the leaf orientations were selected and tested for disease detection. The results suggested that the Ref_{525–745 nm}, Ref_{1060–1068 nm}, DEP920–1120, DEP1070–1320, AREA1070–1320, SR and NDVI at the jointing stage, and the Ref_{606–697 nm}, Ref_{740–752 nm}, WID550–770, SR, NDVI, GNDVI, RDVI, GI and MCARI at the grain filling stage were capable of eliminating the influence of leaf orientation, and were retained for disease detection. Given these features, models based on the partial least square regression analysis showed a better performance at the grain filling stage, with the R ² of 0.854 and RMSE of 0.104. This result indicated that reliable estimation of disease severity can be made until the grain filling stage. In the future, more attention should be given to leaf orientation when detecting disease at the canopy level.     

Spectral vegetation indices selected for quantifying Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) feeding damage in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The effects of insect infestation in agricultural crops are of major economic interest because of increased cost of pest control and reduced final yield. The Russian wheat aphid (RWA: Diuraphis noxia) feeding damage (RWAFD), referred to as ??hot spots??, can be traced, indentified, and isolated from uninfested areas for site specific RWA control using remote sensing techniques. Our objectives were to (1) examine the use of spectral reflectance characteristics and changes in selected spectral vegetation indices to discern infested and uninfested wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by RWA and (2) quantify the relationship between spectral vegetation indices and RWAFD. The RWA infestations were investigated in irrigated, dryland, and greenhouse growing wheat and spectral reflectance was measured using a field radiometer with nine discrete spectral channels. Paired t test comparisons of percent reflectance made for RWA-infested and uninfested wheat yielded significant differences in the visible and near infrared parts of the spectrum. Values of selected indices were significantly reduced due to RWAFD compared to uninfested wheat. Simple linear regression analyses showed that there were robust relationships between RWAFD and spectral vegetation indices with coefficients of determination (r ²) ranging from 0.62 to 0.90 for irrigated wheat, from 0.50 to 0.87 for dryland wheat, and from 0.84 to 0.87 for the greenhouse experiment. These results indicate that remotely sensed data have high potential to identify and separate ??hot spots?? from uninfested areas for site specific RWA control.     

A double-layer model for improving the estimation of wheat canopy nitrogen content from unmanned aerial vehicle multispectral imagery

The accurate and rapid estimation of canopy nitrogen content (CNC) in crops is the key to optimizing in-season nitrogen fertilizer application in precision agriculture. However, the determination of CNC from field sampling data for leaf area index (LAI), canopy photosynthetic pigments (CPP; including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids) and leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC) can be time-consuming and costly. Here we evaluated the use of high-precision unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery for estimating the LAI, CPP and CNC of winter wheat over the whole growth period. A total of 23 spectral features (SFs; five original spectrum bands, 17 vegetation indices and the gray scale of the RGB image) and eight texture features (TFs; contrast, entropy, variance, mean, homogeneity, dissimilarity, second moment, and correlation) were selected as inputs for the models. Six machine learning methods, i.e., multiple stepwise regression (MSR), support vector regression (SVR), gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), Gaussian process regression (GPR), back propagation neural network (BPNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), were compared for the retrieval of winter wheat LAI, CPP and CNC values, and a double-layer model was proposed for estimating CNC based on LAI and CPP. The results showed that the inversion of winter wheat LAI, CPP and CNC by the combination of SFs+TFs greatly improved the estimation accuracy compared with that by using only the SFs. The RBFNN and BPNN models outperformed the other machine learning models in estimating winter wheat LAI, CPP and CNC. The proposed double-layer models (R²=0.67–0.89, RMSE=13.63–23.71 mg g^–1, MAE=10.75–17.59 mg g^–1) performed better than the direct inversion models (R²=0.61–0.80, RMSE=18.01–25.12 mg g^–1, MAE=12.96–18.88 mg g^–1) in estimating winter wheat CNC. The best winter wheat CNC accuracy was obtained by the double-layer RBFNN model with SFs+TFs as inputs (R²=0.89, RMSE=13.63 mg g^–1, MAE=10.75 mg g^–1). The results of this study can provide guidance for the accurate and rapid determination of winter wheat canopy nitrogen content in the field.     

Estimation of bioenergy crop yield and N status by hyperspectral canopy reflectance and partial least square regression

The objective of this study was to compare performance of partial least square regression (PLSR) and best narrowband normalize nitrogen vegetation index (NNVI) linear regression models for predicting N concentration and best narrowband normalize different vegetation index (NDVI) for end of season biomass yield in bioenergy crop production systems. Canopy hyperspectral data was collected using an ASD FieldSpec FR spectroradiometer (350–2500 nm) at monthly intervals in 2012 and 2013. The cropping systems evaluated in the study were perennial grass {mixed grass [50 % switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), 25 % Indian grass “Cheyenne” (Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash) and 25 % big bluestem “Kaw” (Andropogon gerardii Vitman)] and switchgrass “Alamo”} and high biomass sorghum “Blade 5200” (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) grown under variable N applications rates to estimate biomass yield and quality. The NNVI was computed with the wavebands pair of 400 and 510 nm for the high biomass sorghum and 1500 and 2260 nm for the perennial grass that were strongly correlated to N concentration for both years. Wavebands used in computing best narrowband NDVI were highly variable, but the wavebands from the red edge region (710–740 nm) provided the best correlation. Narrowband NDVI was weakly correlated with final biomass yield of perennial grass (r² = 0.30 and RMSE = 1.6 Mg ha^?1 in 2012 and r² = 0.37 and RMSE = 4.0 Mg ha^?1, but was strongly correlated for the high biomass sorghum in 2013 (r² = 0.72 and RMSE = 4.6 Mg ha^?1). Compared to the best narrowband VI, the RMSE of the PLSR model was 19–41 % lower for estimating N concentration and 4.2–100 % lower for final biomass. These results indicates that PLSR might be best for predicting the final biomass yield using spectral sample obtained in June to July, but narrowband NNVI was more robust and useful in predicting N concentration.     

Monitoring nitrogen,phosphorus and sulphur in hybrid rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L.) using hyperspectral remote sensing

Till date, the remote sensing research on crop nutrient monitoring has focused mainly on biomass and nitrogen (N) estimation and only a few attempts had been made to characterize and monitor macronutrients other than N. Field experiments were undertaken to study the remote detection of macronutrient status of rice using hyperspectral remote sensing. The variability in soil available N, phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S) and their content in plants were created using artificial fertility gradient design. The leaf and canopy hyperspectral reflectance was captured from variable macronutrient status vegetation. Linear correlation analysis between the spectral reflectance and plant nutrient status revealed significantly (p < 0.05) higher correlation coefficient at 670, 700, 730, 1090, 1260, 1460 nm for the nutrient under study. Published and proposed vegetation indices (VIs) were tested for canopy N, P and S prediction. The results of the investigation revealed that, published VIs (NDVI hyper and NDVI broadbands) could retrieve canopy N with higher accuracy, but not P and S. The predictability of the visible and short wave infrared based VI NRI₁₅₁₀ ((R₁₅₁₀ ? R₆₆₀)/(R₁₅₁₀ + R₆₆₀)) was the highest (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) for predicting N. Based on the outcomes of linear correlation analysis new VIs were proposed for remote detection of P and S. Proposed VI P_670_1260 ((R₁₂₆₀ ? R₆₇₀)/(R₁₂₆₀ + R₆₇₀)) retrieved canopy P status with higher prediction accuracy (r = 0.67, p < 0.01), whereas significantly higher canopy S prediction (r = 0.58, p < 0.01) was obtained using VI S_670_1090 ((R₁₀₉₀ ? R₆₇₀)/(R₁₀₉₀ + R₆₇₀)). The proposed spectral algorithms could be used for real time and site-specific N, P and S management in rice. Nutrient specific wavelengths, identified in the present investigation, could be used for developing relatively low-cost sensors of hand-held instruments to monitor N, P and S status of rice plant.     

基于多角度高光谱遥感的冬小麦叶片含水率估算模型

准确的作物水分监测对于旱情评估具有重要意义。在分析研究区冬小麦多角度光谱特征后,利用不同水分处理下冬小麦实测叶片含水率和实测多角度光谱数据,基于植被光谱指数法,建立不同观测角度下冬小麦光谱植被指数、水分敏感波段光谱指数与叶片含水率之间的数学模型。结果显示,相对方位角与相对天顶角越小时,观测到的光谱指数与叶片含水率的相关关系越优;敏感波段组合构建的光谱指数中,1450nm波段分别与其他波段组合的NDSI、RSI指数与叶片含水率相关性在各观测角度条件下均较好,1 450 nm波段是冬小麦叶片含水率研究的最佳敏感波段;选取常见的4种植被指数(NDVI、EVI、WI和NDII)中WI和NDVI在各观测角度下与叶片含水率的相关性优于其他两种指数,决定系数R2均在0.83以上,P0.01呈极显著相关;综上建立的多角度光谱叶片含水率估算模型,平均相对误差MRE均小于0.154、均方根误差RMSE均小于0.098,拟合效果较好,尤其是光谱指数NDSI1160,1450、NDSI980,1450和植被指数NDVI、WI;基于以上4种指数建立的最优观测角度(0°,30°)模型,其中植被指数WI的估算效果最好,相关系数在各角度均达到5%的相关显著水平,MRE0.03,可作为最优观测角度反演研究的最优植被指数。