Estimation of leaf traits from reflectance measurements: comparison between methods based on vegetation indices and several versions of the PROSPECT model

PROSPECT model inversion and empirical VI approach provide similar retrieval performances and are useful methods to estimate leaf biochemical composition from spectral measurements. However, the PROSPECT model inversion gives potential access to additional traits on surface reflectivity and leaf internal structure. This study suggests that non-destructive estimation of leaf chlorophyll and water contents is a relevant method to provide leaf traits with relatively high throughput.