A two-layer canopy reflectance model

Abstract

A computationally efficient canopy reflectance model is developed. A typical two-layer canopy of forest understory communities is addressed in the model where a geometrically thin layer of vegetation of different structure and/or optical properties is under the main layer of canopy. The model allows to calculate reflectance spectrum in every given direction for the spectral range 400–2500 nm . The model calculations show that the use of effective canopy parameters in a homogeneous canopy reflectance model may cause significant biases in estimated canopy reflectance.