SET 1
1. Write down the spectral characteristics of vegetation in the optical region of EMR.
Reflectance of vegetation changes according to the composition, maturity and Spectral Signature
health of vegetation. Presence of the chlorophyll pigment results in unique spectral signature of
vegetation that enables us to distinguish it easily from other types of land cover (non-living)
features in an optical/near-infrared image. The reflectance of vegetation is low in both the blue
and red regions of the EM spectrum, due to absorption of blue and red wavelengths by
chlorophyll for photosynthesis. It has a peak reflectance at the green region that gives green
colour to vegetation. In the near infrared (NIR) region, the reflectance is much higher than that in
the visible band due to the cellular structure in the leaves. Hence, vegetation can be easily
identified in the NIR region of spectrum.
2. Compare the merits and demerits of various vegetation indices of optical remote sensing.
NDVI:
Merits: As a simple transformation of spectral bands, NDVI is easily computes without
assumptions regarding land cover classes, soil type or climatic conditions.
Demerits: Saturates at high biomass content making it difficult to differentiate moderately high
plant cover from very high plant cover. Inherent nonlinearity because it is a ratio-based index
Ratio Vegetation Index:
Merits: Employed for estimating biomass in areas of high vegetation cover.
Demerits: Sensitive to changes in soil background.
3. Explain PCA.
Principal components analysis (PCA) is a technique applied to multispectral and hyperspectral
remotely sensed data. PCA transforms an original correlated dataset into a substantially smaller
set of uncorrelated variables that represents most of the information present in the original
dataset. It reduces data dimensionality (e.g., number of bands). Instead of throwing away the
redundant data, principal components analysis condenses the information in intercorrelated
variables into a few variables, called principal components.
4. Write down the spectral and dielectric characteristics of saline & alkaline soil.
5. List out the various agricultural drought indices.
Crop Moisture Index (CMI), Soil Moisture Anomaly Index (SMAI), Agro-Hydro Potential
(AHP) index, Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), and Self-Calibrating PDSI (SC-PDSI).
6. Discuss Water Cloud Model and its potential application areas in brief.
To ascertain physical properties of vegetation and soil, a semi-empirical model named the Water
Cloud Model (WCM), was proposed. In the WCM, the canopy is assumed to be a uniform cloud
of water like particles. Then, the total backscattered signal is expressed in simplified form, such
as an incoherent sum of the backscattering contributions of the uniform canopy layer and the
underlying rough surface. Since the canopy in the WCM can be represented by one or two bulk
vegetation parameters, it can be practically used for retrieving physical properties. Several
studies have used the WCM for soil moisture estimation over vegetated areas and for biophysical
parameter estimation.
The total backscattering coefficient, σ0, can be expressed by the incoherent sum of the scattering
contribution of the vegetation layer, σ0v, and the scattering contribution of the soil layer, σ0s,
attenuated by the attenuation coefficient T2, given as follows:
σ0=σ0v+σ0sT2
7. Write down the difference between decomposition and classification techniques.
Polarimetric decomposition approaches provide a measure of the relative contributions of
backscatter from different scattering mechanisms and hence, the selection of proper
decomposition method plays a vital role in the classification of natural distributed targets. The
different parameters derived from the decomposition techniques are given as input in the
classification technique.
8. What is the role of the SAR Imageries in Forest Stock Mapping?
The forest stock maps depict forest type, density, encroachments, cultivation patches, human
habitats, regeneration status and provide an idea about available resources. The SAR system
parameters and object characteristics influence backscattering mechanisms, which can be: single
bounce (specular reflection), double bounce (adjacent smooth surfaces) or volumetric (non
homogeneous forest canopy and stems). Therefore, the backscattered signal can have different
sources as it reaches each part of vegetation structure and the soil which is decisive for studies
with forestry. Each type of vegetation has a specific structure that will interact differently with
SAR microwaves, when identifying different succession stages of the Forest. Many applications
of SAR data for forest studies can be found in the literature and, to cite a few: forest biomass
estimates; height or volume estimates; phenology and detection of flood.
9. What is the spaghetti model?
Spaghetti model is the simplest vector data structure. This model is the most natural and most
logical model. In the spaghetti data model, each entity on a map becomes one logical record in
the digital life, and is defined as a string of x, y coordinates. In this model the map is maintained
as the conceptual entity. Each piece of analog map is considered as spaghetti and each piece of
spaghetti acts as a single entity. Any polygons that lie adjacent polygons share the same string of
spaghetti.
10. Write about carbon footprints and sinks.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the
production, use and end-of-life of a product or service. It includes carbon dioxide — the gas
most commonly emitted by humans — and others, including methane, nitrous oxide, and
fluorinated gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming. Usually, the bulk
of an individual’s carbon footprint will come from transportation, housing and food.
Carbon sinks are natural systems that suck up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The main natural carbon sinks are plants, the ocean and soil. Plants grab carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere to use in photosynthesis; some of this carbon is transferred to soil as plants die
and decompose. The oceans are a major carbon storage system for carbon dioxide. Marine
animals also take up the gas for photosynthesis, while some carbon dioxide simply dissolves in
the seawater.
SET 2
1. What is Leaf Area Index and its applicability in agricultural growth monitoring?
Leaf area index (LAI) is a dimensionless quantity that characterizes plant canopies. It is defined
as the one-sided green leaf area per unit ground surface area (LAI = leaf area / ground area, m2 /
m2) in broadleaf canopies.
This ratio can be related to gas-vegetation exchange processes such as photosynthesis,
evaporation and transpiration, rainfall interception, and carbon flux. Long-term monitoring of
LAI can provide an understanding of dynamic changes in productivity and climate impacts on
agriculture and forest ecosystems. Furthermore, LAI can serve as an indicator of stress in
vegetation, thus, it can be used to examine relationships between environmental stress factors
and vegetation insect damage.
2. Write down the advantages of microwave remote sensing over optical remote sensing in crop
investigation.
With all weather capability, higher penetration potential, and depolarization nature, microwave
remote sensing was proved to have more advantages over optical remote sensing.
A variety of applications have been carried out world over using microwave data like
discrimination of crop types, crop phenology study, crop condition monitoring, soil moisture
retrieval, delineation of forest openings, estimation of forest above ground biomass, forest
mapping, and forest structure.
3. Write down the spectral characteristics of sandy and clay soil.
4. Define USLE.
The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) predicts the long-term average annual rate of erosion
on a field slope based on rainfall pattern, soil type, topography, crop system and management
practices.
A = R x K x LS x C x P
A represents the potential long-term average annual soil loss in tonnes per hectare (tons per
acre) per year. This is the amount, which is compared to the "tolerable soil loss" limits.
R is the rainfall and runoff factor, K is the soil erodibility factor, LS is the slope length-gradient
factor, C is the crop/vegetation and management factor, P is the support practice factor. It
reflects the effects of practices that will reduce the amount and rate of the water runoff and thus
reduce the amount of erosion.
5. What is the difference between NDVI and RVI?
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index is a most commonly used multispectral vegetation
index which quantifies vegetation by measuring the difference between near-infrared and red
light.
Values ranges from +1 to -1.
The Radar Vegetation Index (RVI) is a well-established microwave metric of vegetation cover.
The index utilizes measured linear scattering intensities from co- and cross-polarization of SAR
data.
Values ranges from 0 to 1.
6. Write down the significance of dielectric constant in soil contamination studies?
7. Why optical remote sensing indices are not alone adequate for forest inventory mapping?
Satellite images used in forest inventory were first provided by optical sensors, but their
availability is still limited because their acquisition depends on solar radiation. More recently,
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging systems were developed. They are active sensors that
produce their own incident radiation and thus are able of acquiring images whatever the
weather and illumination conditions. The wavelength they used is also longer than the one of
the optical sensors, allowing measuring different characteristics of the imaged area. Capabilities
for estimates of general forest status such as crown height, density and shape, tree basal area,
timber volume and biomass.
8. Explain the role of LIDAR in the delineation of degraded forests.
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is an active remote sensing sensor that emits laser
signals to calculate distances based on the time delay of the returned laser pulses.
Lidar has been used successfully to capture forest structure, to map individual trees in forests
and critical wildlife habitat characteristics, to predict forest volume and biomass, to develop
inputs for forest fire behavior modeling and to map forest topography and infra- structure.
1. Detailed Surface Modeling to generate high-resolution digital elevation products (DSM,
DTM) for the planning and management of forests.
2. LiDAR technology gives much more accurate information for accurate ecological and land
use classification.
3. LiDAR can be used to map the forests by measuring the vertical structures of the canopy, its
density. These models help us understand the complex forest structures and generate accurate
forest inventor
9. Write down the resolution concepts involved in optical and microwave remote sensing.
Optical Remote Sensing:
Spatial resolution, Spectral resolution, radiometric resolution, temporal resolution.
Microwave Remote Sensing:
Range resolution, Azimuth resolution.
10. Why the integration of Remote Sensing and GIS is so vital in biomass estimation and
monitoring?
Satellite remote sensing, in conjunction with geographic information systems (GIS), has been
widely applied and been recognized as a powerful and effective tool in detecting land use and
land cover change. It provides cost-effective multi-spectral and multi-temporal data, and turns
them into information valuable for understanding and monitoring land development patterns.
GIS technology provides a flexible environment forstoring, analyzing, and displaying digital
data necessary for change detection and database development.
