Developing Spectral Library of Major Plant Species of Western Himalayas Using Ground Observations

Abstract

A spectral library of commonly occurring Himalayan plant species has been developed. The 512-channel ASD handheld Fieldspec®Pro, 2000 Spectroradiometer with 3 nm spectral resolution and spectral range of 325 to 1,075 nm has been used for recording the leaf, branch or canopy spectra of plant species. Simultaneous measurements of crop biochemical parameters were estimated following standard methods, and vegetation indices were calculated for all the observations. The photographs of the plant species as well as their general descriptions were also detailed in the library. The spectral library has been developed in .Net programming environment. The GUI of library aids in viewing of all the information related to plant species such as spectral details, spectral graphs, general information of species, observation details, plant photographs, species spectral narrowband indices, species biochemical parameters, export options and help through menus and sub menus. The spectra and other information can be exported for further use by the user. The spectral reflectance can be used during classification of Hyperspectral images. The information provided in the library may also be used to explore the application potential of Hyperspectral images in studying chemical constituents, growth behavior, and ambient ecology of plants on a regional scale in Himalayan region. The basic objective of the work was to standardize the technique for vegetation spectral library development and make the data available for comparison by the user.