Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover

Soil moisture (SM), which plays a crucial role in studies of the climate, ecology, agriculture and the environment, can be estimated and mapped by remote sensing technology over a wide region. However, remotely sensed SM is constrained by its estimation accuracy, which mainly stems from the influenc...

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Main Authors: Cheng-yong WU, Guang-chao CAO, Ke-long CHEN, Chong-yi E, Ya-hui MAO, Shuang-kai ZHAO, Qi WANG, Xiao-yi SU, Ya-lan WEI
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2019-02-01
Series:Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311918619884
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author Cheng-yong WU
Guang-chao CAO
Ke-long CHEN
Chong-yi E
Ya-hui MAO
Shuang-kai ZHAO
Qi WANG
Xiao-yi SU
Ya-lan WEI
author_facet Cheng-yong WU
Guang-chao CAO
Ke-long CHEN
Chong-yi E
Ya-hui MAO
Shuang-kai ZHAO
Qi WANG
Xiao-yi SU
Ya-lan WEI
author_sort Cheng-yong WU
collection DOAJ
description Soil moisture (SM), which plays a crucial role in studies of the climate, ecology, agriculture and the environment, can be estimated and mapped by remote sensing technology over a wide region. However, remotely sensed SM is constrained by its estimation accuracy, which mainly stems from the influence of vegetation cover on soil spectra information in mixed pixels. To overcome the low-accuracy defects of existing surface albedo method for estimating SM, in this paper, Qinghai Lake Basin, an important animal husbandry production area in Qinghai Province, China, was chosen as an empirical research area. Using the surface albedo computed from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance products and the actual measured SM data, an albedo/vegetation coverage trapezoid feature space was constructed. Bare soil albedo was extracted from the surface albedo mainly containing information of soil, vegetation, and both albedo models for estimating SM were constructed separately. The accuracy of the bare soil albedo model (root mean square error=4.20, mean absolute percent error=22.75%, and theil inequality coefficient=0.67) was higher than that of the existing surface albedo model (root mean square error=4.66, mean absolute percent error=25.46% and theil inequality coefficient=0.74). This result indicated that the bare soil albedo greatly improved the accuracy of SM estimation and mapping. As this method eliminated the effect of vegetation cover and restored the inherent soil spectra, it not only quantitatively estimates and maps SM at regional scales with high accuracy, but also provides a new way of improving the accuracy of soil organic matter estimation and mapping.
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spelling doaj-art-4c7eb7ab088e46ae9d97218d99f4c1a82025-08-20T03:58:23ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Journal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192019-02-0118231632710.1016/S2095-3119(18)61988-4Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation coverCheng-yong WU0Guang-chao CAO1Ke-long CHEN2Chong-yi E3Ya-hui MAO4Shuang-kai ZHAO5Qi WANG6Xiao-yi SU7Ya-lan WEI8College of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.China; WU Cheng-yongKey Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaKey Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Correspondence CHEN Ke-long, Mobile: +86-18997295071College of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, P.R.China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education/Qinghai Key Laboratory of Natural Geography and Environmental Processes, Xining 810008, P.R.ChinaSoil moisture (SM), which plays a crucial role in studies of the climate, ecology, agriculture and the environment, can be estimated and mapped by remote sensing technology over a wide region. However, remotely sensed SM is constrained by its estimation accuracy, which mainly stems from the influence of vegetation cover on soil spectra information in mixed pixels. To overcome the low-accuracy defects of existing surface albedo method for estimating SM, in this paper, Qinghai Lake Basin, an important animal husbandry production area in Qinghai Province, China, was chosen as an empirical research area. Using the surface albedo computed from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance products and the actual measured SM data, an albedo/vegetation coverage trapezoid feature space was constructed. Bare soil albedo was extracted from the surface albedo mainly containing information of soil, vegetation, and both albedo models for estimating SM were constructed separately. The accuracy of the bare soil albedo model (root mean square error=4.20, mean absolute percent error=22.75%, and theil inequality coefficient=0.67) was higher than that of the existing surface albedo model (root mean square error=4.66, mean absolute percent error=25.46% and theil inequality coefficient=0.74). This result indicated that the bare soil albedo greatly improved the accuracy of SM estimation and mapping. As this method eliminated the effect of vegetation cover and restored the inherent soil spectra, it not only quantitatively estimates and maps SM at regional scales with high accuracy, but also provides a new way of improving the accuracy of soil organic matter estimation and mapping.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311918619884soil moistureremote sensingbare soil albedotrapezoid feature spaceQinghai Lake Basin
spellingShingle Cheng-yong WU
Guang-chao CAO
Ke-long CHEN
Chong-yi E
Ya-hui MAO
Shuang-kai ZHAO
Qi WANG
Xiao-yi SU
Ya-lan WEI
Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
Journal of Integrative Agriculture
soil moisture
remote sensing
bare soil albedo
trapezoid feature space
Qinghai Lake Basin
title Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
title_full Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
title_fullStr Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
title_full_unstemmed Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
title_short Remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
title_sort remotely sensed estimation and mapping of soil moisture by eliminating the effect of vegetation cover
topic soil moisture
remote sensing
bare soil albedo
trapezoid feature space
Qinghai Lake Basin
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311918619884
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