The Effect of Field Spectral Reflectance Measurement Distance to the Spectral Reflectance of Rhizophora stylosa

Abstract

Mapping mangrove species from remote sensing data through its spectral reflectance pattern collected in the field is challenging. There are high variations in light condition, leaf orientation, canopy structure, background objects and measurement distance when measuring mangrove spectral reflectance in the field. Spectral measurement distance to the object is one of the most important aspects controlling the result of spectral reflectance pattern. This research is aimed to assess the effect of spectral reflectance pattern of Rhizophora stylosa collected at various distances. Specific objectives of this research are to collect samples of mangrove spectral reflectance pattern in the field, to assess the effect of the observation scale to the result of the spectral reflectance pattern, and to characterize the mangrove spectral reflectance pattern resulted from different observation scales. Spectral reflectance data collection in the field was conducted using JAZ EL-350 field spectrometer at 2cm, 50cm, 1m, 2m, and 5m distance and was conducted in Karimunjawa Island, Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia. A visual comparison of the spectral reflectance curve was conducted to understand the effect of measurement distance. The results of this study indicate that the difference in the measurement distance of Rhizophora stylosa species was highly influential to the resulting spectral reflectance curve. The spectral reflectance curve recorded at close range to the leaf (i.e. 2 cm) has the lowest curve variation, as well as the furthest distance (i.e. 5 m). This study is a basic study that supports the development of the use of remote sensing imagery for mangrove species mapping.