NZNi Zhang

Ni Zhang

*This is an algorithmically generated author record based on publicly available information.

Current Organizations / Institutes

The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article


Ni Zhang has a total of 8 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:

  • Jiaoyang He

    National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

    1 shared publication
  • Jingshan Lu

    Key Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

    1 shared publication
  • Tao Cheng

    National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture (NETCIA) MOE Engineering Research Center of Smart Agriculture Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Information Agriculture Institute of Smart Agriculture MARA Key Laboratory of Crop System Analysis and Decision Making Nanjing Agricultural University One Weigang 210095 Nanjing Jiangsu China

    1 shared publication
  • Weixing Cao

    College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

    1 shared publication
  • Xi Su

    National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

    1 shared publication
  • Xia Yao

    National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture (NETCIA), Engineering and Research Center of Smart Agriculture (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory for Crop System Analysis and Decision Making (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Information Agriculture, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    1 shared publication

Latest Publications

  • Open Access

    Estimating Leaf Area Index with a New Vegetation Index Considering the Influence of Rice Panicles

    by Jiaoyang He, Ni Zhang, Xi Su, Jingshan Lu, Xia Yao, Tao Cheng, Yan Zhu, Weixing Cao, Yongchao Tian

    The emergence of rice panicle substantially changes the spectral reflectance of rice canopy and, as a result, decreases the accuracy of leaf area index (LAI) that was derived from vegetation indices (VIs). From a four-year field experiment with using rice varieties, nitrogen (N) rates, and planting densities, the spectral reflectance characteristics of panicles and the changes in canopy reflectance after panicle removal were investigated. A rice “panicle line”—graphical relationship between red-edge and near-infrared bands was constructed by using the near-infrared and red-edge spectral reflectance of rice panicles. Subsequently, a panicle-adjusted renormalized difference vegetation index (PRDVI) that was based on the “panicle line” and the renormalized difference vegetation index (RDVI) was developed to reduce the effects of rice panicles and background. The results showed that the effects of rice panicles on canopy reflectance were concentrated in the visible region and the near-infrared region. The red band (670 nm) was the most affected by panicles, while the red-edge bands (720–740 nm) were less affected. In addition, a combination of near-infrared and red-edge bands was for the one that best predicted LAI, and the difference vegetation index (DI) (976, 733) performed the best, although it had relatively low estimation accuracy (R2 = 0.60, RMSE = 1.41 m2/m2). From these findings, correcting the near-infrared band in the RDVI by the panicle adjustment factor (θ) developed the PRDVI, which was obtained while using the “panicle line”, and the less-affected red-edge band replaced the red band. Verification data from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) showed that the PRDVI could minimize the panicle and background influence and was more sensitive to LAI (R2 = 0.77; RMSE = 1.01 m2/m2) than other VIs during the post-heading stage. Moreover, of all the assessed VIs, the PRDVI yielded the highest R2 (0.71) over the entire growth period, with an RMSE of 1.31 (m2/m2). These results suggest that the PRDVI is an efficient and suitable LAI estimation index.