LICOR (OTTER): Spectral Reflectance of Cut Conifer Foliage

LICOR measurements capture the bi-directional spectral reflectance of cut conifer foliage across different age classes, species, and sites. This dataset provides a foundational resource for modeling forest canopy radiative transfer and validating remote sensing data. Its availability on multiple government platforms underscores its established role in Earth science research.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived vegetation indices based on ground-truth spectral reflectance.
• Modeling forest canopy radiative transfer using measured bi-directional reflectance distribution functions (BRDF).
• Comparing spectral signatures between conifer species and age classes for species classification.
• Calibrating airborne or laboratory spectrometers against a standardized reference dataset.

Strengths

• Data is hosted by NASA, indicating a high standard of curation and scientific relevance.
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals importance and accessibility.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not described, hindering immediate analysis.
• Conflicting last-updated dates (1990 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about data currency and potential reprocessing.
• The 'other-license-specified' license on datagov lacks clear terms for reuse without further investigation.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measured by LICOR instruments on cut foliage samples.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 1990-06-21 on nasa_earthdata and 2026-04-10 on datagov.

Geography

Specific sites not named, but data covers multiple field sites.