The global distribution of leaf chlorophyll content
Chlorophyll molecules facilitate the conversion of absorbed solar radiation into stored chemical energy, and the exchange of matter and energy fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Our ability to accurately model these fluxes is important to forecasting carbon dynamics, within the context of a changing climate. However, global efforts to map leaf chlorophyll have been hampered by the complexity of the relationship between satellite-derived canopy reflectance and plant biophysical and biochemical variables. To address this complexity we used physically-based radiative transfer models to derive leaf chlorophyll from top-of-canopy reflectance data because they are underpinned by physical laws that determine the interaction between solar radiation and the vegetation canopy. The results reveal the spatial and temporal diversity in leaf chlorophyll distribution across the global scale.
For more information: Croft, H. Chen, J. Wang, R. Mo, G. Luo, S. Luo, X. He, L. Gonsamo, A. Arabian, J. Zhang, Y. Simic, A. Noland, T.L. He, Y. Homolová, L. Malenovský, Z. Yi, Q. Beringer, J. Amiri, R. Hutley, L. Arellano, P. Stahl, C. Bonal, D. (2020) The Global distribution of leaf chlorophyll content. Remote Sensing of Environment, 236: 111479