Shape of the red edge as vitality indicator for plants

Abstract

The shift of the red edge in the reflection spectra of vegetation targets is a known phenomenon documenting changes in the biological status of plants. In our study we analysed the variability of red edge reflection in dependency of differently managed field plots, The results indicate that the red edge is not fully described by the shift of the main inflection point, but has to be considered as a collection of several different and possibly independent features, each of them influenced by biological parameters of the plants. Thus, taking all features, the red edge as derived from high resolution spectra may provide enough information to detect small differences in the chemical and morphological status of plants.