Influence of leaf specular reflection on canopy radiative regime using an improved version of the stochastic radiative transfer model

Date Issued
2018-10-01Publisher Version
10.3390/rs10101632Author(s)
Yang, Bin
Knyazikhin, Yuri
Xie, Donghui
Zhao, Haimeng
Zhang, Junqiang
Wu, Yi
Metadata
Show full item recordPermanent Link
https://hdl.handle.net/2144/33313Version
Accepted manuscript
Citation (published version)
Bin Yang, Yuri Knyazikhin, Donghui Xie, Haimeng Zhao, Junqiang Zhang, Yi Wu. 2018. "Influence of Leaf Specular Reflection on Canopy Radiative Regime Using an Improved Version of the Stochastic Radiative Transfer Model." REMOTE SENSING, Volume 10, Issue 10, pp. ? - ? (17). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101632Abstract
Interpreting remotely-sensed data requires realistic, but simple, models of radiative transfer that occurs within a vegetation canopy. In this paper, an improved version of the stochastic radiative transfer model (SRTM) is proposed by assuming that all photons that have not been specularly reflected enter the leaf interior. The contribution of leaf specular reflection is considered by modifying leaf scattering phase function using Fresnel reflectance. The canopy bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) estimated from this model is evaluated through comparisons with field-measured maize BRF. The result shows that accounting for leaf specular reflection can provide better performance than that when leaf specular reflection is neglected over a wide range of view zenith angles. The improved version of the SRTM is further adopted to investigate the influence of leaf specular reflection on the canopy radiative regime, with emphases on vertical profiles of mean radiation flux density, canopy absorptance, BRF, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). It is demonstrated that accounting for leaf specular reflection can increase leaf albedo, which consequently increases canopy mean upward/downward mean radiation flux density and canopy nadir BRF and decreases canopy absorptance and canopy nadir NDVI when leaf angles are spherically distributed. The influence is greater for downward/upward radiation flux densities and canopy nadir BRF than that for canopy absorptance and NDVI. The results provide knowledge of leaf specular reflection and canopy radiative regime, and are helpful for forward reflectance simulations and backward inversions. Moreover, polarization measurements are suggested for studies of leaf specular reflection, as leaf specular reflection is closely related to the canopy polarization.
Rights
Attribution 4.0 InternationalCollections