Monitoring multi-layer canopy spring phenology of temperate deciduous and evergreen forests using low-cost spectral sensors

Emerging near-surface remote sensing techniques have advanced our ability to monitor forest canopy phenology. Thus far, however, little effort has been made to monitor the phenologies of the various canopies of multi-layer forests separately, despite their importance in regulating forest biogeochemical cycles. Here we report phenological changes in multi-layer canopies of deciduous broadleaf and evergreen needleleaf forests in the Republic of Korea during the spring of 2013. We installed light-emitting diode (LED) sensors at four different canopy heights at two sites to measure the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using red and near-infrared (NIR) spectral reflectance and to estimate leaf area index (LAI) using the blue band gap fraction. LED-sensors identified leaf-out dates of over- and understory canopies at both sites; leaves unfolded 8–11days earlier in the understory canopy than the overstory canopy. At the deciduous forest site, LED-NDVI failed to capture the leaf-out date in the overstory canopy, because all four LED-sensors started to see green-up from the understory canopy while the overstory canopy was leafless. LED-LAI identified different leaf-out dates for the over- and understory canopy, because the gap fraction was measured explicitly for each canopy layer. In the evergreen forest site, LED-NDVI signals between the top of the tower and beneath the overstory canopy were decoupled because of the dense evergreen overstory canopy. Both LED-NDVI and LED-LAI identified new needle expansion in the overstory canopy and understory canopy development. MODIS NDVI agreed well with LED-NDVI data (R2=0.96, RMSE=0.04) at the deciduous forest site, and we discovered that understory canopy development determined the onset of greenness based on MODIS NDVI data. LED-LAI data agreed well with independent estimates from the other instruments, indicating that LED-sensors could be used to monitor multi-layer canopy LAI. Continuous, in-situ observation of multi-layer canopy phenology will aid in the interpretation of satellite remote sensing phenology products and improve land surface models that adopt a multi-layer canopy model. •LED-sensors can measure NDVI and LAI concurrently at multiple canopy depths.•Integration of NDVI and LAI can monitor multi-layer canopy phenology accurately.•Understory canopy development determined the onset of greenness in MODIS NDVI.