Testing high spatial resolution WorldView-2 Imagery for retrieving the Leaf Area Index

摘要

This work analyzes the potentiality of WorldView-2 satellite data for retrieving the Leaf Area Index (LAI) area located in Apulia, the most Eastern region of Italy, overlooking the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Lacking contemporary in-situ measurements, the semi-empiric method of Clevers (1989) (CLAIR model) was chosen as a feasible image-based LAI retrieval method, which is based on an inverse exponential relationship between the LAI and the WDVI (Weighted Difference Vegetation Index) with relation to different land covers. Results were examined in homogeneous land cover classes and compared with values obtained in recent literature.