VALIDITY OF NDVI-BASED BIOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS FOR ECOSYSTEM MODELS

NDVI has been very frequently used to estimate several biophysical parameters that are required for ecosystem models. Leaf area index (LAI), canopy closure, and biomass are among those biophysical parameters that are estimated by empirical relationship with NDVI. However, the type of remote sensing signals (raw DN value, at-sensor radiance, atmospherically corrected reflectance) used can vary the calculation of NDVI. In this study, we tried to attempt to compare the influence of NDVI linked with forest LAI for the watershed-scale ecosystem models to estimate evapotranspiration. Landsat ETM+ data were used to obtain various NDVI values over the study area in central Korea. The NDVI-based LAI and the resultant evapotranspiration estimation were greatly varied by the remote sensing signal applied.