Estimation of chlorophyll content in Eucalyptus globulus foliage with the leaf reflectance model PROSPECT

This communication presents the performance of the PROSPECT leaf optical model to derive chlorophyll content (Cab) estimates from reflectance and transmittance spectra of Eucalyptus globulus foliage. Estimates were compared to measured chlorophyll of 100% acetone extractions. The analysis showed that recent modifications to the absorption coefficients used in the PROSPECT model resulted in improved estimates of chlorophyll for both adult and juvenile leaves. Results were better for adult leaves, with estimates within 5 μg cm−2 for the juvenile data set and 3 μg cm−2 for adult leaves. Accurate estimates of canopy chlorophyll content in eucalypt plantations through the numerical inversion of leaf-level radiative transfer (RT) models such as PROSPECT coupled to canopy RT models would improve our ability to assess and monitor eucalypt plantation growth, health and condition.