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  • Open Access
  • © 2020

Remote Sensing of Plant Biodiversity

  • Links remote sensing to physiological, ecological and evolutionary knowledge of plant biodiversity
  • Provides a novel perspective and approach for linking hyperspectral data to phylogenetic information that underpins the tree of life
  • Summarizes the importance to humanity of meeting the technological and methodological challenges in monitoring the Earth's biodiversity

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Table of contents (21 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
  2. Applying Remote Sensing to Biodiversity Science

    • Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Anna K. Schweiger, Jesús N. Pinto-Ledezma, Jose Eduardo Meireles
    Pages 13-42Open Access
  3. Scaling Functional Traits from Leaves to Canopies

    • Shawn P. Serbin, Philip A. Townsend
    Pages 43-82Open Access
  4. The Laegeren Site: An Augmented Forest Laboratory

    • Felix Morsdorf, Fabian D. Schneider, Carla Gullien, Daniel Kükenbrink, Reik Leiterer, Michael E. Schaepman
    Pages 83-104Open Access
  5. Lessons Learned from Spectranomics: Wet Tropical Forests

    • Roberta E. Martin
    Pages 105-120Open Access
  6. Linking Leaf Spectra to the Plant Tree of Life

    • José Eduardo Meireles, Brian O’Meara, Jeannine Cavender-Bares
    Pages 155-172Open Access
  7. Linking Foliar Traits to Belowground Processes

    • Michael Madritch, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Sarah E. Hobbie, Philip A. Townsend
    Pages 173-197Open Access
  8. Using Remote Sensing for Modeling and Monitoring Species Distributions

    • Jesús N. Pinto-Ledezma, Jeannine Cavender-Bares
    Pages 199-223Open Access
  9. Remote Sensing of Geodiversity as a Link to Biodiversity

    • Sydne Record, Kyla M. Dahlin, Phoebe L. Zarnetske, Quentin D. Read, Sparkle L. Malone, Keith D. Gaddis et al.
    Pages 225-253Open Access
  10. Predicting Patterns of Plant Diversity and Endemism in the Tropics Using Remote Sensing Data: A Study Case from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

    • Andrea Paz, Marcelo Reginato, Fabián A. Michelangeli, Renato Goldenberg, Mayara K. Caddah, Julián Aguirre-Santoro et al.
    Pages 255-266Open Access
  11. Remote Detection of Invasive Alien Species

    • Erik A. Bolch, Maria J. Santos, Christiana Ade, Shruti Khanna, Nicholas T. Basinger, Martin O. Reader et al.
    Pages 267-307Open Access
  12. A Range of Earth Observation Techniques for Assessing Plant Diversity

    • Angela Lausch, Marco Heurich, Paul Magdon, Duccio Rocchini, Karsten Schulz, Jan Bumberger et al.
    Pages 309-348Open Access
  13. Spectral Field Campaigns: Planning and Data Collection

    • Anna K. Schweiger
    Pages 385-423Open Access
  14. Consideration of Scale in Remote Sensing of Biodiversity

    • John A. Gamon, Ran Wang, Hamed Gholizadeh, Brian Zutta, Phil A. Townsend, Jeannine Cavender-Bares
    Pages 425-447Open Access
  15. Integrating Biodiversity, Remote Sensing, and Auxiliary Information for the Study of Ecosystem Functioning and Conservation at Large Spatial Scales

    • Franziska Schrodt, Betsabe de la Barreda Bautista, Christopher Williams, Doreen S. Boyd, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Maria J. Santos
    Pages 449-484Open Access
  16. Essential Biodiversity Variables: Integrating In-Situ Observations and Remote Sensing Through Modeling

    • Néstor Fernández, Simon Ferrier, Laetitia M. Navarro, Henrique M. Pereira
    Pages 485-501Open Access
  17. Prospects and Pitfalls for Spectroscopic Remote Sensing of Biodiversity at the Global Scale

    • David Schimel, Philip A. Townsend, Ryan Pavlick
    Pages 503-518Open Access

About this book

This Open Access volume aims to methodologically improve our understanding of biodiversity by linking disciplines that incorporate remote sensing, and uniting data and perspectives in the fields of biology, landscape ecology, and geography. The book provides a framework for how biodiversity can be detected and evaluated—focusing particularly on plants—using proximal and remotely sensed hyperspectral data and other tools such as LiDAR. The volume, whose chapters bring together a large cross-section of the biodiversity community engaged in these methods, attempts to establish a common language across disciplines for understanding and implementing remote sensing of biodiversity across scales.

The first part of the book offers a potential basis for remote detection of biodiversity. An overview of the nature of biodiversity is described, along with ways for determining traits of plant biodiversity through spectral analyses across spatial scales and linking spectral data to the tree of life. The second part details what can be detected spectrally and remotely. Specific instrumentation and technologies are described, as well as the technical challenges of detection and data synthesis, collection and processing. The third part discusses spatial resolution and integration across scales and ends with a vision for developing a global biodiversity monitoring system. Topics include spectral and functional variation across habitats and biomes, biodiversity variables for global scale assessment, and the prospects and pitfalls in remote sensing of biodiversity at the global scale. 

Editors and Affiliations

  • Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, USA

    Jeannine Cavender-Bares

  • University of Nebraska–Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, University of Alberta, Departments of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Biological Sciences, Edmonton, AB, Canada, Lincoln, USA

    John A. Gamon

  • Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, USA

    Philip A. Townsend

About the editors

Dr. Jeannine Cavender-Bares is a Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She earned a Masters at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a PhD in Biology at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of plant function, applying phylogenetics and spectral data to community ecology, and remote sensing of biodiversity. She is committed to advancing international efforts for global monitoring and assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services to aid management efforts towards sustainability.

Dr. John Gamon is a Professor in the Departments of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. He also conducts research in Quantitative Remote Sensing at the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT) in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He earned his Masters and his PhD in Botany at the University of California, Davis, and did his Post-Doctoral Research on Remote Sensing and Ecophysiology at the Carnegie institution in Stanford, CA. His research focus include photosynthesis, ecosystem function, productivity, biodiversity, ecoinformatics and sustainability. 

Dr. Philip Townsend is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He earned his PhD in Geography at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research focuses include physiological remote sensing, imaging spectroscopy, ecosystem ecology, and watershed hydrology. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access