The estimation of actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) from any given land cover or crop type is important for irrigation water management and agricultural water consumption analysis. The main parameter used for such estimations is the crop coefficient (Kc). Spectral reflectance indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the crop coefficient of a specific crop or pasture canopy are important indicators of 'vigour', namely the photosynthetic activity and rate of biomass accumulation. Measuring both parameters simultaneously, with a view to understanding how they interact, or for creating optical, surrogate indicators of Kc is very difficult because Kc itself is difficult to measure. In this study a portable enclosed chamber was used to measure ETc of a pasture and subsequently calculated Kc from reference evapotranspiration (ETo) data derived from a nearby automatic weather station (AWS). Calibration of the chamber confirms the suitability of the device to measure the amount of water vapour produced by local plant evapotranspiration, producing a calibration factor (C) close to 1 (C=1.02, R2=0.87). The coincident NDVI values were measured using a portable active optical sensor. In a test involving a pasture (Festuca arundinacea var. Dovey) at two different stages of growth in two consecutive growing seasons, the NDVI and crop coefficients were observed to be strongly correlated (R2=0.80 and 0.77, respectively). A polynomial regression (R2=0.84) was found to be the best fit for the combined, multi-temporal Kc-NDVI relationship. The main advantages of this method include the suitability of operating at a smaller scale (<1 m2), in real time and repeatability.

The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) for plant canopies is often inferred from top-of-canopy, spectral reflectance, vegetation indices like the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Such measures are derived using passive optical sensors and solar illumination of the canopy. However both the passive sensor-derived NDVI and the accompanying fAPAR measurements are affected by the solar elevation angle (θs). In many cases the effect of θs on both NDVI and fAPAR measurements is similar and the effect of θs is often cancelled out. The new class of active optical sensors (AOS) that contain their own radiant light sources to produce equivalent measurements of NDVI are not influenced by θs even though the accompanying values of fAPAR, as derived using a passive sensor are. This means the fAPAR–NDVIAOS relationship will invariably be sensitive to θs. By way of example, this paper investigates the correlations between the NDVIAOS and fAPAR under conditions of varying solar illumination angle for a tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) pasture. The NDVIAOS was observed to retain a strong linear correlation with fAPAR (R2 ≥ 0.85) but fAPAR was highly sensitive to θs. Subsequently, simple models can be utilized to predict the fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationship for any solar elevation angle between 30 and 80°.

Remote sensing based spectral indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), are often used to estimate the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) in plant canopies. Owing to similar changes in both the NDVI and fAPAR as functions of varying solar illumination angle when using entirely passive sensors, the fAPAR-NDVI relationships are often stable, appearing insensitive to solar illumination angle. Active optical sensors (AOS) on the other hand, which have their own illuminating light source and are increasingly being used to measure NDVI (NDVIAOS), do not respond to solar illumination geometry. Yet, the passive sensor-derived fAPAR component of the fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationship remains affected by solar illumination angle. In this paper, a simple two-stream canopy model has been used to predict the fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationships of a pasture canopy (tall fescue; 'Festuca arundinacea') for a nadir-viewing active optical NDVI sensor under conditions of varying solar elevation angle. Both the model derived and subsequent experimental measurements of the fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationship in this pasture confirmed a strong dependence of the linear fa Par-NDVIAOS relationships on solar illumination angle. The modelled fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationship only agreed with the field measurements when the 'solar angle-dependent directional leaf area index' (LAIθs) of the canopy, as presented to the incoming solar photons, was used as opposed to the traditionally used 'nadir version' of the leaf area index (LAI). Users of AOS to measure indices such as NDVI must account for the solar illumination angle dependent LAI0s when considering any fAPAR-NDVIAOS relationship.

Actual evapotranspiration (ETc) is one of the important parameters that determines the daily and seasonal water requirement by the crop community. It varies with numerous factors including weather, soil moisture availability and other crop related factors such as growing stage, fraction of field coverage and crop vigour. In this study we investigated the relationship between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) that is closely related to photosynthetically-active biomass (PAB) and the evapotranspiration of pasture at different soil moisture condition. A portable enclosed chamber was used to measure ETc of a target pasture canopy and consequently the NDVI with a hand held active optical sensor. The portable chamber was calibrated in the laboratory and produced a calibration factor of C=1.02. Field experiments were conducted on the UNE SMART Farm in Tall Fescue pastures (Festuca arundinacea var. Dovey). Under limiting soil moisture condition the relationship between NDVI and ETc showed a negative correlation (R2=0.73) whereas a strong and positive correlation (R2=0.82) were observed in a non-limiting soil moisture condition.