Remote Sensing, Vol. 10, Pages 1463: Remote Sensing of Leaf and Canopy Nitrogen Status in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Based on N-PROSAIL Model (Remote Sensing)

Plant nitrogen (N) information has widely been estimated through empirical techniques using hyperspectral data. However, the physical model inversion approach on N spectral response has seldom developed and remains a challenge. In this study, an N-PROSAIL model based on the N-based PROSPECT model and the SAIL model canopy model was constructed and used for retrieving crop N status both at leaf and canopy scales. The results show that the third parameter (3rd-par) retrieving strategy (leaf area index (LAI) and leaf N density (LND) optimized where other parameters in the N-PROSAIL model are set at different values at each growth stage) exhibited the highest accuracy for LAI and LND estimation, which resulted in R2 and RMSE values of 0.80 and 0.69, and 0.46 and 21.18 µg·cm−2, respectively. It also showed good results with R2 and RMSE values of 0.75 and 0.38% for leaf N concentration (LNC) and 0.82 and 0.95 g·m−2 for canopy N density (CND), respectively. The N-PROSAIL model retrieving method performed better than the vegetation index regression model (LNC: RMSE = 0.48 − 0.64%; CND: RMSE = 1.26 − 1.78 g·m−2). This study indicates the potential of using the N-PROSAIL model for crop N diagnosis on leaf and canopy scales in wheat.