By RJ Aylward Pepperdine University

Mentors John Potapenko and Dr. Susan Ustin

! LAI is defined as
one half of the total
leaf area per unit
ground surface area.
! Unit-less quantity,
(m
2
/m
2
)
VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model Conclusion
Hemispherical Lens
Photographs
Vegetation
Indices
calculated
from
MASTER
Flight Data
Ratios of Classified
LiDAR Point Returns
LAI
VI
LAI
LiDAR
LAI
ground

VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model Conclusion
Jose L. Zarate-Valdez, Michael L. Whiting, Bruce D. Lampinen, Samuel Metcalf, Susan L. Ustin, Patrick H. Brown, Prediction of
leaf area index in almonds by vegetation indexes, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 85, July 2012, Pages 24-32,
ISSN 0168-1699, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2012.03.009.
Introduction LiDAR Model Ground Model Conclusion
Vegetation Indices Used
Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index
Modified Normalized
Difference Water Index
Gitelson and
Merzlyak Index
Green Normalized
Difference Vegetation
Index
Normalized difference
infrared index
Introduction LiDAR Model Ground Model Conclusion
NDVI NDWI
GMI GNDVI
NDII
Introduction LiDAR Model Ground Model Conclusion
Introduction VI Model Ground Model Conclusion
! NEON Discrete Return
LiDAR instrument
! Resolution of at least 1
point per square meter
Introduction VI Model Ground Model Conclusion
Model is based on the Beer-Lambert
equation of light extinction (L
e
).
R
ground
= LiDAR Ground Returns
R
total
= Total LiDAR Returns
Jeffrey J. Richardson, L. Monika Moskal, Soo-Hyung Kim, Modeling approaches to estimate effective leaf area index from aerial
discrete-return LIDAR, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Volume 149, Issues 67, 15 June 2009, 1152-1160, ISSN 0168-1923,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.02.007.
Introduction VI Model Ground Model Conclusion
Next Steps Classify Points
Vegetation
Ground
Introduction VI Model Ground Model Conclusion
Unclassified Point Cloud
Introduction VI Model Ground Model Conclusion
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Conclusion
! Photographs were taken
at specific location to
create a representative
average of the overall
plot
! Hemispherical lens
photos were processed
by members of Dr. Susan
Ustins Lab.
ArcMap 10.2
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model
! Binning was used to
enable the generation of
a meaningful regression
because of the high
density LiDAR point
value
! Graphs were generated
for each of the five
vegetation indices
derived from the
MASTER data.
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model
Vegetation
Index
Regression
Equation
R
2
Value
RMSE Value
NDVI y = 0.021 x + 0.297 0.837 0.0125
NDWI y = 0.024 x 0.585 0.804 0.0163
NDII y = 0.023 x 0.594 0.796 0.0159
GMI y = 0.070 x + 2.461 0.896 0.0324
GNDVI y = 0.015 x + 0.404 0.686 0.0135
Comparing VIs to Ground LAI
! Binning was used to
enable the generation of
a meaningful regression
because of the high
density LiDAR point
value
! Graphs were generated
for each of the five
vegetation indices
derived from the
MASTER data.
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model
Vegetation
Index
Regression
Equation
R
2
Value
NDVI y = 0.021 x + 0.297 0.011
NDWI y = 0.024 x 0.585 0.249
NDII y = 0.023 x 0.594 0.253
GMI y = 0.070 x + 2.461 0.051
GNDVI y = 0.015 x + 0.404 0.042
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model
LAI
VI

LAI
LiDAR

LAI
ground

-
Strong Correlation,
R
2
> .686 for all VIs
Weak Correlation,
R
2
< .254 for all VIs
- -
No Correlation,
R
2
< .001
- - -
LAI
VI
LAI
LiDAR
LAI
ground

Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model
Questions?
Special thanks to Jpop and Dr. Ustin for helping me develop this project, the
members of Dr. Ustins lab who preformed the field work and processed the LAI
photographs, the Land House aka Team-Best-Team for all of their love and support
(especially Kira who helped me stay awake during those late nights), Emily Schaller
and Rick Shetter for making this amazing program possible, and all of the rest of the
SARP students and mentors for helping to make this such an incredible experience.
Introduction VI Model LiDAR Model Ground Model