In situ examination of the relationship between various vegetation indices and canopy phenology in an evergreen coniferous forest, Japan

We examined the relationship between four vegetation indices and tree canopy phenology in an evergreen coniferous forest in Japan based on observations made using a spectral radiometer and a digital camera at a daily time step during a 4 year period. The colour of the canopy surface of Japanese ceda...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of remote sensing 2012-01, Vol.33 (19), p.6202-6214
Main Authors: Nagai, Shin, Saitoh, Taku M, Kobayashi, Hideki, Ishihara, Mitsunori, Suzuki, Rikie, Motohka, Takeshi, Nasahara, Kenlo Nishida, Muraoka, Hiroyuki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied geophysics
Biological and medical sciences
color
Cryptomeria japonica
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
forest canopy
forest types
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Internal geophysics
leaves
phenology
photosynthesis
pigments
seasonal variation
Teledetection and vegetation maps
trees
winter
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Summary:We examined the relationship between four vegetation indices and tree canopy phenology in an evergreen coniferous forest in Japan based on observations made using a spectral radiometer and a digital camera at a daily time step during a 4 year period. The colour of the canopy surface of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) changed from yellowish-green to whitish-green from late May to July and turned reddish-green in winter. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and plant area index (PAI) showed no seasonality. In contrast, the green–red ratio vegetation index (GRVI) increased from March to June and then decreased gradually from July to December, resulting in a bell-shaped curve. GRVI revealed seasonal changes in the colour of the canopy surface. GRVI correlated more positively with the evaluated maximum photosynthetic rate for the whole forest canopy, Aₘₐₓ, than did NDVI or EVI. These results suggest the possibility that GRVI is more useful than NDVI and EVI for capturing seasonal changes in photosynthetic capacity, as the green and red reflectances are strongly influenced by changes in leaf pigments in this type of forest.
ISSN:1366-5901
0143-1161
1366-5901
DOI:10.1080/01431161.2012.682660