Modeling recollision and escape probabilities using the stochastic radiative transfer equation

Abstract

The spectral invariants of vegetation canopy convey a lot of information on the canopy structure at hierarchical levels. Recent findings of the wavelength independent and scale independent variable — the ratio between the directional escape and the total escape probability — show that it does dependent on the selection of reference leaf albedo in getting correct reflectance values and can be treated as the identifier of macro scale canopy structure (foliage density, aspect ratio, ground cover, tree shape). In order to better utilize this variable in the retrieval algorithm for 3D canopy structure. Model simulation based on the stochastic radiative transfer equation is used to test the sensitivity of this variable to the structural parameters. Hyperspectral and multi-angle data are simulated and analyzed.