This study focuses on the comparison of hybrid methods of estimation of biophysical variables such as leaf area index (LAI), leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), fraction of vegetation cover (FVC), and canopy chlorophyll content (CCC) from Sentinel-2 satellite data. Different machine learning algorithms were trained with simulated spectra generated by the physically-based radiative transfer model PROSAIL and subsequently applied to Sentinel-2 reflectance spectra. The algorithms were assessed against a standard operational approach, i.e., the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) toolbox, based on neural networks. Since kernel-based algorithms have a heavy computational cost when trained with large datasets, an active learning (AL) strategy was explored to try to alleviate this issue. Validation was carried out using ground data from two study sites: one in Shunyi (China) and the other in Maccarese (Italy). In general, the performance of the algorithms was consistent for the two study sites, though a different level of accuracy was found between the two sites, possibly due to slightly different ground sampling protocols and the range and variability of the values of the biophysical variables in the two ground datasets. For LAI estimation, the best ground validation results were obtained for both sites using least squares linear regression (LSLR) and partial least squares regression, with the best performances values of R2 of 0.78, rott mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.68 m2 m−2 and a relative RMSE (RRMSE) of 19.48% obtained in the Maccarese site with LSLR. The best results for LCC were obtained using Random Forest Tree Bagger (RFTB) and Bagging Trees (BagT) with the best performances obtained in Maccarese using RFTB (R2 = 0.26, RMSE = 8.88 μg cm−2, RRMSE = 17.43%). Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) was the best algorithm for all variables only in the cross-validation phase, but not in the ground validation, where it ranked as the best only for FVC in Maccarese (R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 0.08, RRMSE = 9.86%). It was found that the AL strategy was more efficient than the random selection of samples for training the GPR algorithm.

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This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination.

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Accurate yield estimation at the field scale is essential for the development of precision agriculture management, whereas at the district level it can provide valuable information for supply chain management. In this paper, Huan Jing (HJ) satellite HJ1A/B and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were employed to retrieve leaf area index (LAI) and canopy cover (CC) in the Yangling area (Central China). These variables were then assimilated into two crop models, Aquacrop and simple algorithm for yield (SAFY), in order to compare their performances and practicalities. Due to the models' specificities and computational constraints, different assimilation methods were used. For SAFY, the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) was applied using LAI as the observed variable, while for Aquacrop, particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used, using canopy cover (CC). These techniques were applied and validated both at the field and at the district scale. In the field application, the lowest relative root-mean-square error (RRMSE) value of 18% was obtained using EnKF with SAFY. On a district scale, both methods were able to provide production estimates in agreement with data provided by the official statistical offices. From an operational point of view, SAFY with the EnKF method was more suitable than Aquacrop with PSO, in a data assimilation context. Keywords: leaf area index (LAI); canopy cover (CC); Landsat 8; HJ1A/B; artificial neural network (ANN); ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF); particle swarm optimization (PSO)

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