Leaf reflectance variation along a vertical crown gradient of two deciduous tree species in a Belgian industrial habitat

Ali Reza Khavaninzadeh; Frank Veroustraete; Shari Van Wittenberghe; Jochem Verrelst; Roeland Samson

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.05.028

Leaf reflectance variation along a vertical crown gradient of two deciduous tree species in a Belgian industrial habitat

Environ Pollut. 2015 Sep:204:324-32. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.05.028. Epub 2015 Jun 6.

Authors

Ali Reza Khavaninzadeh¹, Frank Veroustraete², Shari Van Wittenberghe³, Jochem Verrelst⁴, Roeland Samson⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: a.r.khavaninzadeh@gmail.com.
² Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: frank.veroustraete@uantwerpen.be.
³ Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: shari.vanwittenberghe@uantwerpen.be.
⁴ Image Processing Laboratory, University of Valencia, C/Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: jochem.verrelst@uv.es.
⁵ Department of Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: roeland.samson@uantwerpen.be.

PMID: 26057363
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.05.028

Abstract

The reflectometry of leaf asymmetry is a novel approach in the bio-monitoring of tree health in urban or industrial habitats. Leaf asymmetry responds to the degree of environmental pollution and reflects structural changes in a leaf due to environmental pollution. This paper describes the boundary conditions to scale up from leaf to canopy level reflectance, by describing the variability of adaxial and abaxial leaf reflectance, hence leaf asymmetry, along the crown height gradients of two tree species. Our findings open a research pathway towards bio-monitoring based on the airborne remote sensing of tree canopies and their leaf asymmetric properties.

Keywords: Bio-geophysics; Canopy height gradient; Ghent (Belgium); Industrial habitats; Leaf asymmetry; Leaf reflectometry.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollution*
Belgium
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Industry
Plant Leaves / anatomy & histology*
Remote Sensing Technology
Trees / anatomy & histology*