Remote sensing of chlorophyll a fluorescence of vegetation canopies: 1. Near and far field measurement techniques

This article presents instruments and techniques, used in several vegetation monitoring experiments. Simultaneous monitoring was performed with different approaches, including fluorescence lidar and passive remote sensing, leaf level reflectance, and laser fluorimetry, and compared with physiological measurements. Most of the instrumentation described was designed and built for this application. Experiments were carried out in the laboratory and in the field, to investigate the relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence spectra and plant ecophysiology. Remote sensing, spectroscopy, and ecophysiology data were then collected by an intensive research team, joining different experiences and working in national and international projects.