Extraction of red edge optical parameters from Hyperion data for estimation of forest leaf area index

A correlation analysis was conducted between forest leaf area index (LAI) and two red edge parameters: red edge position (REP) and red well position (RWP), extracted from reflectance image retrieved from Hyperion data. Field spectrometer data and LAI measurements were collected within two days after the Earth Observing One satellite passed over the study site in the Patagonia region of Argentina. The two red edge parameters were extracted with four approaches: four-point interpolation, polynomial fitting, Lagrangian technique, and inverted-Gaussian (IG) modeling. Experimental results indicate that the four-point approach is the most practical and suitable method for extracting the two red edge parameters from Hyperion data because only four bands and a simple interpolation computation are needed. The polynomial fitting approach is a direct method and has its practical value if hyperspectral data are available. However, it requires more computation time. The Lagrangian method is applicable only if the first derivative spectra are available; thus, it is not suitable to multispectral remote sensing. The IG approach needs further testing and refinement for Hyperion data.