Models for estimating leaf pigments and relative water content in three vertical canopy levels of norway spruce based on laboratory spectroscopy

Unique set of data was obtained during the field campaign in the Krusne hory Mts. (the western part of the Czech Republic) in August 2013. From fifty five representative 80-year-old trees of Norway Spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) equally distributed on eleven study sites, branches were taken in three vertical canopy levels (sunlit productive upper and lower parts of a tree crown, shaded saturated part of a tree crown) and first three needle age classes were analysed. Spectral reflectance of these spruce foliage samples was measured in the range between 350 and 2,500 nm using an ASD FieldSpec 4 Wide-Res spec- trometer in combination with the fibre optic contact probe. Some samples were also measured in the integrating sphere. Photosynthetic pigment (total chloro- phylls, total carotenoids) contents and relative water content were determined in laboratory for all samples. The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) show that the contents of pigments and relative water content are significantly different not only between the needle age classes (what is widely known) but also in the verti- cal canopy levels. There are only few studies dealing with vertical heterogeneity in Norway spruce canopy. Thus, the main goal of this study is to build and com- pare the statistically based prediction models for photosynthetic pigments and water content estimation for three vertical canopy levels of Norway Spruce. The- se results in classifications of biochemical and biophysical properties of Norway Spruce stands using hyperspectral remote sensing data.