Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Leaf Area Index Estimation Using Three Distinct Methods in Pure Deciduous Stands
Published on: August 29, 2019
A novel moisture adjusted vegetation index (MAVI) to reduce background reflectance and topographical effects on LAI
Gaolong Zhu1, Weimin Ju2, J M Chen3
1Department of Geography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, China; International Institute for Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Abstract:
A new moisture adjusted vegetation index (MAVI) is proposed using the red, near infrared, and shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance in band-ratio form in this paper. The effectiveness of MAVI in retrieving leaf area index (LAI) is investigated using Landsat-5 data and field LAI measurements in two forest and two grassland areas. The ability of MAVI to retrieve forest LAI under different background conditions is further evaluated using canopy reflectance of Jack Pine and Black Spruce forests simulated by the 4-Scale model. Compared with several commonly used two-band vegetation index, such as normalized difference vegetation index, soil adjusted vegetation index, modified soil adjusted vegetation index, optimized soil adjusted vegetation index, MAVI is a better predictor of LAI, on average, which can explain 70% of variations of LAI in the four study areas. Similar to other SWIR-related three-band vegetation index, such as modified normalized difference vegetation index (MNDVI) and reduced simple ratio (RSR), MAVI is able to reduce the background reflectance effects on forest canopy LAI retrieval. MAVI is more suitable for retrieving LAI than RSR and MNDVI, because it avoids the difficulty in properly determining the maximum and minimum SWIR values required in RSR and MNDVI, which improves the robustness of MAVI in retrieving LAI of different land cover types. Moreover, MAVI is expressed as ratios between different spectral bands, greatly reducing the noise caused by topographical variations, which makes it more suitable for applications in mountainous area.
Related Concept Videos
Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Infrared Spectroscopy: Overview
The ATR process begins by directing a beam...
Light Acquisition
Precipitation Gravimetry
In determining nickel by gravimetric analysis, a precipitant of ethanolic dimethylglyoxime is added to a hot nickel salt solution. This is quickly followed by the dropwise addition of dilute ammonia solution until precipitation occurs. A...
Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling
Boundary Layer Characteristics
Moisture Content and Bulking of Aggregate
When aggregates are exposed to rain or sit in stockpiles, they absorb moisture, which must be...

