MSc thesis topic: Biochemical trait retrieval and photosynthesis dynamics: Impacts on Sun-induced Fluorescence (SIF) from ground to airborne and satellite platforms.

The ESA FLEX mission will provide global SIF measurements from space to monitor photosynthesis at a large scale. Additionally, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer high-temporal and high-spatial resolution data, which are essential for precision agriculture and plant phenotyping. Integrating RTMs with SIF helps enhance our understanding of the relationship between key biochemical traits and photosynthesis, shedding light on plant health and stress factors.

Background

A large-scale measurement campaign is being conducted using HyPlant to focus on SIF measurements across different land cover types (forests, crops, grasslands), comparing data from ground, airborne, and satellite platforms. This campaign aims to investigate spatial patterns of vegetation stress, such as drought-induced limitations on photosynthesis. By integrating RTMs, the study will explore the link between SIF and key biochemical traits that influence photosynthesis, including chlorophyll content and nitrogen balance. Observations will be gathered using instruments like the DESIS satellite (providing hyperspectral data) and the HyPlant sensor, a high-resolution airborne hyperspectral system. These instruments will provide critical data to assess plant traits and better understand stress responses in both crops and natural vegetation.

Relevance to research/projects at GRS or other groups

The field campaign is a collaboration between GRS, the Meteorology group of WUR and Twente University.

Objectives and Research questions

This research aims to integrate SIF measurements with radiative transfer models to explore the relationships between biochemical plant traits and photosynthetic activity. The study will enhance our understanding of how SIF can be used to monitor plant health, crop stress, and productivity. Additionally, the research will evaluate the potential of the HyPlant sensor and the DESIS satellite for retrieving plant traits and their application in precision agriculture.

• How can radiative transfer models improve the interpretation of SIF data for retrieving key biochemical traits, such as chlorophyll content?
• What are the spatial and temporal variations in SIF and biochemical compounds across different land cover types, and how do these variations relate to vegetation stress and photosynthesis?
• How effective are the HyPlant sensor and DESIS satellite in retrieving plant traits, and how do they compare in terms of resolution and accuracy for monitoring crop health and stress?

Requirements

• Required: Geoscripting, Remote Sensing, Advance Earth Observation
• Optional: Spatial Modelling and Statistics, Deep Learning

Literature and information

• Mohammed, G. H., Colombo, R., Middleton, E. M., Rascher, U., van der Tol, C., Nedbal, L., Goulas, Y., Pérez-Priego, O., Damm, A., Meroni, M., Joiner, J., Cogliati, S., Verhoef, W., Malenovský, Z., Gastellu-Etchegorry, J. P., Miller, J. R., Guanter, L., Moreno, J., Moya, I., … Zarco-Tejada, P. J. (2019). Remote sensing of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) in vegetation: 50 years of progress. Remote Sensing of Environment, 231.
• Verrelst, J., Malenovský, Z., Van der Tol, C., Camps-Valls, G., Gastellu-Etchegorry, J. P., Lewis, P., North, P., & Moreno, J. (2019). Quantifying Vegetation Biophysical Variables from Imaging Spectroscopy Data: A Review on Retrieval Methods. Surveys in Geophysics, 40(3), 589–629.

Expected reading list before starting the thesis research

• Camino, C., Gonzalez-Dugo, V., Hernandez, P., & Zarco-Tejada, P. J. P. J. (2019). Radiative transfer Vcmax estimation from hyperspectral imagery and SIF retrievals to assess photosynthetic performance in rainfed and irrigated plant phenotyping trials. Remote Sensing of Environment, 231(April), 111186.
• Siegmann, B., Cendrero-Mateo, M. P., Cogliati, S., Damm, A., Gamon, J., Herrera, D., Jedmowski, C., Junker-Frohn, L. V., Kraska, T., Muller, O., Rademske, P., van der Tol, C., Quiros-Vargas, J., Yang, P., & Rascher, U. (2021). Downscaling of far-red solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence of different crops from canopy to leaf level using a diurnal data set acquired by the airborne imaging spectrometer HyPlant. Remote Sensing of Environment, 264(January), 112609.
• Wang, N., Siegmann, B., Rascher, U., Clevers, J. G. P. W., Muller, O., Bartholomeus, H., Bendig, J., Masiliūnas, D., Pude, R., & Kooistra, L. (2022). Comparison of a UAV- and an airborne-based system to acquire far-red sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements over structurally different crops. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 323.

Theme(s): Sensing & measuring; Modelling & visualisation