Retrieving Canopy Properties from Remote Sensing Measurements

A wide variety of tools have been designed to extract information on the nature and structure of terrestrial ecosystems from remote sensing data. Two approaches are described here in some detail: the use of spectral indices, and the design and inversion of physically-based models of the interaction between the radiation field and the surface. The advantages and drawbacks of these approaches are discussed, and the importance of combined field and laboratory measurement campaigns is stressed.