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Title: Remotely estimating photosynthetic capacity, and its response to temperature, in vegetation canopies using imaging spectroscopy

Journal Article · · Remote Sensing of Environment

To date, the utility of ecosystem and Earth system models (EESMs) has been limited by poor spatial and temporal representation of critical input parameters. For example, EESMs often rely on leaf-scale or literature-derived estimates for a key determinant of canopy photosynthesis, the maximum velocity of RuBP carboxylation (Vcmax, μmol m–2 s–1). Our recent work (Ainsworth et al., 2014; Serbin et al., 2012) showed that reflectance spectroscopy could be used to estimate Vcmax at the leaf level. Here, we present evidence that imaging spectroscopy data can be used to simultaneously predict Vcmax and its sensitivity to temperature (EV) at the canopy scale. In 2013 and 2014, high-altitude Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy (AVIRIS) imagery and contemporaneous ground-based assessments of canopy structure and leaf photosynthesis were acquired across an array of monospecific agroecosystems in central and southern California, USA. A partial least-squares regression (PLSR) modeling approach was employed to characterize the pixel-level variation in canopy Vcmax (at a standardized canopy temperature of 30 °C) and EV, based on visible and shortwave infrared AVIRIS spectra (414–2447 nm). Our approach yielded parsimonious models with strong predictive capability for Vcmax (at 30 °C) and EV (R2 of withheld data = 0.94 and 0.92, respectively), both of which varied substantially in the field (≥ 1.7 fold) across the sampled crop types. The models were applied to additional AVIRIS imagery to generate maps of Vcmax and EV, as well as their uncertainties, for agricultural landscapes in California. The spatial patterns exhibited in the maps were consistent with our in-situ observations. As a result, these findings highlight the considerable promise of airborne and, by implication, space-borne imaging spectroscopy, such as the proposed HyspIRI mission, to map spatial and temporal variation in key drivers of photosynthetic metabolism in terrestrial vegetation.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC00112704
OSTI ID:
1228836
Report Number(s):
BNL-108474-2015-JA; R&D Project: 21087/21088; YN0100000
Journal Information:
Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 167, Issue C; ISSN 0034-4257
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 119 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Assessing Across-Scale Optical Diversity and Productivity Relationships in Grasslands of the Italian Alps journal March 2019
Hyperspectral assessment of plant responses to multi‐stress environments: Prospects for managing protected agrosystems journal November 2019
Hyperspectral reflectance as a tool to measure biochemical and physiological traits in wheat journal December 2017
Describing prairie C4 plant species area coverage using hyperspectral reflectance journal July 2018
A roadmap for improving the representation of photosynthesis in Earth system models journal November 2016
Remote Sensing of Grassland Biophysical Parameters in the Context of the Sentinel-2 Satellite Mission journal January 2016
A multiplexed gas exchange system for increased throughput of photosynthetic capacity measurements journal September 2018
Estimating photosynthetic capacity from leaf reflectance and Chl fluorescence by coupling radiative transfer to a model for photosynthesis journal April 2019
Improved estimates of global terrestrial photosynthesis using information on leaf chlorophyll content journal April 2019
Global photosynthetic capacity is optimized to the environment journal January 2019
The rapid A-C i response: photosynthesis in the phenomic era : Rapid journal March 2017
Hyperspectral Leaf Reflectance as Proxy for Photosynthetic Capacities: An Ensemble Approach Based on Multiple Machine Learning Algorithms journal June 2019
Using multirate rapid A / C i curves as a tool to explore new questions in the photosynthetic physiology of plants journal January 2019
From the Arctic to the tropics: multibiome prediction of leaf mass per area using leaf reflectance journal September 2019
The nitrogen cost of photosynthesis journal October 2018
Retrieving Foliar Traits of Quercus garryana var. garryana across a Modified Landscape Using Leaf Spectroscopy and LiDAR journal December 2019
Vegetation demographics in Earth System Models: A review of progress and priorities journal October 2017
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Leaf chlorophyll content as a proxy for leaf photosynthetic capacity journal January 2017
A low-cost and open-source platform for automated imaging journal January 2019
A test of the ‘one-point method’ for estimating maximum carboxylation capacity from field-measured, light-saturated photosynthesis journal December 2015
Leaf reflectance spectroscopy captures variation in carboxylation capacity across species, canopy environment and leaf age in lowland moist tropical forests journal June 2019
Retrieving Foliar Traits of Quercus garryana var. garryana across a Modified Landscape Using Leaf Spectroscopy and LiDAR text January 2020
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Figures / Tables (6)