MMR Leaf Optical Properties: Reflectance and Transmittance of Grasses and Forbs

Seven-band spectral reflectance and transmittance measurements were collected from leaves in 1987, 1988, and 1989 using a Nebraska Multiband Leaf Radiometer (NMLR) coupled with an integrating sphere. Data focus on the most recently expanded leaves of grasses like Indian grass, Switch grass, and Big bluestem, with some forbs and measurements of older, senescing leaves. This in-situ dataset supports the calibration of remote sensing instruments and the study of leaf biophysical properties.

Use Cases

• Calibrating satellite or airborne sensor reflectance models based on leaf-level spectral properties.
• Studying seasonal and diurnal changes in leaf optical properties for dominant grassland species.
• Analyzing the spectral signature differences between young, mature, and senescing leaves.
• Validating radiative transfer models for narrow-leaved grasses using controlled illumination data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans three consecutive growing seasons (1987-1989), providing temporal depth.
• Measurements include at least two samples per species, supporting basic statistical robustness.
• Use of a slitted illuminator specifically for narrow grass leaves reduces measurement noise.

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all sources, limiting reproducibility.
• Conflicting metadata: one platform lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates the data is from 1989.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ leaf-level spectral observations acquired with a Nebraska Multiband Leaf Radiometer (NMLR) and LiCor LI-1800-12 integrating sphere.

Time Range

1987 to 1989

Freshness

2026-04-10 00:32:01.591009 (from datagov, but conflicts with 1989 end date from nasa_earthdata)