Novel approach for computing photosynthetically active radiation for productivity modeling using remotely sensed images in the Great Plains, United States

Gross primary production (GPP) is a key indicator of ecosystem performance, and helps in many decision-making processes related to environment. We used the Eddy covariancelight use efficiency (EC-LUE) model for estimating GPP in the Great Plains, United States in order to evaluate the performance of this model. We developed a novel algorithm for computing the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) based on net radiation. A strong correlation (R²=0.94,N=24) was found between daily PAR and Landsat-based mid-day instantaneous net radiation. Though the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based instantaneous net radiation was in better agreement (R²=0.98,N=24) with the daily measured PAR, there was no statistical significant difference between Landsat based PAR and MODIS based PAR. The EC-LUE model validation also confirms the need to consider biological attributes (C³ versus C⁴ plants) for potential light use efficiency. A universal potential light use efficiency is unable to capture the spatial variation of GPP. It is necessary to use C³ versus C⁴ based land use/land cover map for using EC-LUE model for estimating spatiotemporal distribution of GPP.