Remote Sensing of Vegetation Structural and Biochemical Parameters: Retrieval, Measurement, Validation, and Application
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Agriculture and Vegetation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 May 2026 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editors
Interests: leaf chlorophyll content retrieval; leaf area index retrieval; radiative transfer model; UAV image processing
Interests: crop remote sensing identification; remote sensing extraction of key parameters of crop growth; agricultural remote sensing applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: 3D radiative transfer model; vegetation parameter inversion; big data analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Vegetation structural and biochemical parameters—such as leaf area index (LAI), canopy height, fractional vegetation cover (FVC), leaf chlorophyll (LCC), carotenoid content (LCar), nitrogen concentration, and biomass—are fundamental for ecosystem monitoring, carbon budget assessment, and the study of climate–vegetation feedbacks. With recent advances in remote sensing, these parameters can now be estimated at increasingly finer spatial and temporal resolutions by integrating multi-source observations. Current research highlights several frontiers, including three-dimensional (3D) mapping of vegetation traits through multi-platform data (satellite, UAV, tower-based, and ground-based measurements), the generation of high-resolution products with time-series reconstruction, and cross-scale validation across diverse ecosystems.
This Special Issue particularly encourages submissions that explore innovative developments in the retrieval of vegetation structural and biochemical traits. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Novel algorithms for plant trait retrieval and 3D trait mapping;
- Multi‑platform observational experiments and new instrument designs;
- Generation of high‑resolution vegetation products and time‑series reconstruction;
- Validation and intercomparison of retrieval algorithms or vegetation products;
- Ecosystem monitoring applications based on multi‑platform observations.
While structural and biochemical parameters remain the focus, submissions covering broader functional or process-driven traits—such as gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), water content, or phenological dynamics—are also encouraged.
Dr. Hu Zhang
Dr. Baodong Xu
Prof. Dr. Yelu Zeng
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- canopy structure
- leaf pigment
- photosynthesis and respiration
- biomass
- dynamic change
- vertical distribution
- ecosystem quality
- data fusion
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