We proposed a method to estimate single scattering albedo of winter wheat over the North China Plain with AMSR-E passive microwave imagery. The relationships of single scattering albedo and optical depth between 6. 925 GHz and 10. 65 GHz were derived from simulations. To retrieve the single scattering albedo,the relationships were combined with the physical expressions of microwave vegetation indices derived from the first-order parameterized emission model. Comparisons with normalized difference vegetation index( NDVI) obtained from daily MODIS reflectance product showed that the variations in winter wheat single scattering albedo were similar to those of winter wheat NDVI. However,several differences were observed. NDVI showed saturation from the heading stage to the milky stage of winter wheat,whereas single scattering albedo remained sensitive to the growth of winter wheat. Single scattering albedo offers certain advantages in reflecting the growth status of winter wheat.
