Modeling of vegetation canopy reflectance: Status, issues and recommended future strategy

Various technical issues related to mapping of vegetative type, condition and stage of maturity, utilizing remotely sensed spectral data are reviewed. The existing knowledge base of models, especially of radiative properties of the vegetation canopy and atmosphere, is reviewed to establish the state of the art for addressing the problem of vegetation mapping. Activities to advance the state of the art are recommended. They include working on canopy reflectance and atmospheric scattering models, and field measurements of canopy reflectance as well as of canopy components. Leaf area index (LAI) and solar radiation interception (SRI) are identified as the two most important vegetation variables requiring further investigation. It is recommended that activities related to sensing them or understanding their relationships with measurable variables, should be encouraged and supported.