Leaf area index estimation from visible and near-infrared reflectance data

A two-stream description of the interaction of radiation with vegetation and soil is tested with experimental data for a corn canopy. The results indicate that the two parameters of the theory (reflectance of a dense canopy and the attenuation coefficient for radiation in the canopy) can be estimated for the Thematic Mapper spectral bands. A collection of soil reflectance data is used to develop relationships between near-infrared reflectance and visible reflectances. Jointly the canopy and soil formulations verify the potential for estimating leaf area index from radiation measurements in the visible and near-infrared.