Polarized directional reflectance from laurel and mullein leaves

The ability to perform polarimetric imaging throughout the vis- ible and infrared (IR) wavebands has improved considerably in the past decade. Systems now exist that enable measurements to be made of all four Stokes parameters arising from each pixel in the image. The ques- tion of whether polarimetric imaging offers an advantage over conven- tional imaging methods for discrimination of plant type in scenes of natu- ral vegetation remains to be answered. Although the size of a leaf may be below the spatial resolution of an imaging system, the polarimetric properties of individual leaves may affect the data observed from a tree or forest canopy. We report the results of measurements of the polarized hemispherical directional reflectance (HDR), which is related to the di- rectional emissivity, and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) from two examples of leaves. To completely characterize the polarimetric properties of a leaf, and ultimately a leaf canopy, an exten- sive measurement of the polarized BRDF and HDR of individual leaves is required. This is necessary because of the large range of possible relative orientations of the illumination, leaf and observer, and the range of polarization states of incident radiation. We report a limited set of laboratory measurements designed to investigate whether any gross po- larimetric difference exist between two dissimilar types of plant leaves in the visible, near IR (NIR), and IR spectral wavebands. Laurel (prunus laurecatious) has a wax surface creating a gloss or glabrous appearance to the leaf. The surface of mullein (verbascum thapsus) is highly pubes- cent with a dense layer of hair over the adaxial surface, creating a highly diffuse surface reflectance. Significant differences are found between the two species of leaf in the measured polarized directional reflectance and emissivity.