Exploring spatial and temporal variation in the middle infrared reflectance (at 3.75um) measured from the tropical forests of West Africa

In the effort to acquire information about tropical forests across regional scales via remote sensing, recent research notes the potential of the reflected component of middle infrared (MIR) radiation acquired by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) channel 3 (at 3.75 mum). This paper demonstrates this potential further, using MIR reflectance to determine tropical forest amount across south-west Ghana, and explores temporal variations in the MIR reflectance measured. Significant inverse relationships between forest tree density and MIR reflectance were derived for three dates. However, the remotely sensed response between the dates was observed to alter; thus temporal variability was evident. Further research to elucidate fully the factors controlling MIR reflectance and moreover its temporal variability from tropical forest canopies is required prior to its routine use in studies of tropical forests at regional scales.