3D spatial distribution of biophysical parameters derived from hyperspectral and lidar remote sensing. Improving the constraints in land surface modelling

A hyperspectral sensor and a full waveform LiDAR were flown over a temperate Eucalyptus forest in Australia, at the location of the Tumbarumba Ozflux site. Ground cover and leaf area index were derived from the LiDAR dataset while chlorophyll content maps were generated from the hyperspectral imagery using 3D radiative transfer models and the structural information derived from the LiDAR. These maps were subsequently used to replace fixed parameters in land surface models (LSM). We used the LSM CABLE-SLI to demonstrate how spatial variability in biophysical parameters translates into changes in net ecosystem exchange.