Temporal dynamics in vertical leaf angles can confound vegetation indices widely used in Earth observations
Abstract Earth observation data is key for monitoring vegetation dynamics across temporal and spatial scales. The most widely used method to estimate vegetation properties from Earth observation data is vegetation indices. However, temporal dynamics in vertical leaf angles can strongly alter reflectance signals and, hence, vegetation indices. Here, we derive leaf angles from plant photographs to simulate the effect on vegetation indices with radiative transfer models. We show that leaf angle dynamics systematically confound widely applied vegetation indices. Moreover, we demonstrate that these effects are not random but tightly linked to abiotic environmental conditions. These systematic effects of vertical leaf angles have implications for monitoring plant properties, biodiversity, and ecosystem functional properties. We discuss the related challenges and opportunities to assess spatio-temporal vegetation dynamics with remote sensing and vegetation indices.
Authors
- Teja Kattenborn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7381-3828)
- David Montero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9010-3286)
- Nico Eisenhauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-6720)
- Claudia Guimarães‐Steinicke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7829-641X)
- Christian Wirth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2604-8056)
- Hannes Feilhauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5758-6303)
- Miguel D. Mahecha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3031-613X)
- Sebastian Wieneke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8729-9751)
- Ronny Richter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8728-7918)
- Benjamin Dechant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5171-2364)
- Olga Ferlian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2536-7592)
- Lena Sachsenmaier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0594-3927)
Institutions
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE)
- Leipzig University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2024-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01712-0
- Citations
- 18
- Primary Topic
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.26
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig