Investigating Sentinel 2 Multispectral Imagery Efficiency in Describing Spectral Response of Vineyards Covered with Plastic Sheets

The protection of vineyards with overhead plastic covers is a technique largely applied in table grape growing. As with other crops, remote sensing of vegetation spectral reflectance is a useful tool for improving management even for table grape viticulture. The remote sensing of the spectral signals emitted by vegetation of covered vineyards is currently an open field of investigation, given the intrinsic nature of plastic sheets that can have a strong impact on the reflection from the underlying vegetation. Baring these premises in mind, the aim of the present work was to run preliminary tests on table grape vineyards covered with polyethylene sheets, using Copernicus Sentinel 2 (Level 2A product) free optical data, and compare their spectral response with that of similar uncovered vineyards to assess if a reliable spectral signal is detectable through the plastic cover. Vine phenology, air temperature and shoot growth, were monitored during the 2016 growing cycle. Twenty-four Copernicus Sentinel 2 (S2, Level 2A product) images were used to investigate if, in spite of plastic sheets, vine phenology can be similarly described with and without plastic covers. For this purpose, time series of S2 at-the-ground reflectance calibrated bands and correspondent normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), modified soil-adjusted vegetation index, version two (MSAVI2) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) spectral indices were obtained and analyzed, comparing the responses of two covered vineyards with different plastic sheets in respect of two uncovered ones. Results demonstrated that no significant limitation (for both bands and spectral indices) was introduced by plastic sheets while monitoring spectral behavior of covered vineyards.