Global White-Sky and Black-Sky FAPAR Retrieval Using the Energy Balance Residual Method: Algorithm and Validation

The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation by vegetation (FAPAR) is a key variable in describing the light absorption ability of the vegetation canopy. Most global FAPAR products, such as MCD15A2H and GEOV1, correspond to FAPAR under black-sky conditions at the satellite overpass time only. In this paper, we aim to produce both the global white-sky and black-sky FAPAR products based on the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) visible (VIS) albedo, leaf area index (LAI), and clumping index (CI) products. Firstly, a non-linear spectral mixture model (NSM) was designed to retrieve the soil visible (VIS) albedo. The global soil VIS albedo and its dynamics were successfully mapped at a resolution of 500 m using the MCD43A3 VIS albedo product and the MCD15A2H LAI product. Secondly, a method based on the energy balance residual (EBR) principle was presented to retrieve the white-sky and black-sky FAPAR using the MODIS broadband VIS albedo (white-sky and black-sky) product (MCD43A3), the LAI product (MCD15A2H) and CI products. Finally, the two EBR FAPAR products were compared with the MCD15A2H and Geoland2/BioPar version 1 (GEOV1) black-sky FAPAR products. A comparison of the results indicates that these FAPAR products show similar spatial and seasonal patterns. Direct validation using FAPAR observations from the Validation of Land European Remote sensing Instrument (VALERI) project demonstrates that the EBR black-sky FAPAR product was more accurate and had a lower bias (R2 = 0.917, RMSE = 0.088, and bias = −2.8 %) than MCD15A2H (R2 = 0.901, RMSE = 0.096, and bias = 7.6 % ) and GEOV1 (R2 = 0.868, RMSE = 0.105, and bias = 6.1%).