Please join us for seminar talk by Dr. Anna Schweiger, of ETH Zurich.

Plant spectra reveal functional, taxonomic, and phylogenetic dimensions of plant biodiversity

Abstract

Spectroscopy, the study of the interactions of light with different materials, has made its way from lab analysis to biodiversity monitoring and discovery tool. In this seminar, I’m going to talk about plant spectra across scales of observation (from leaves, to individual plants, and plant communities); applications of imaging spectroscopy for the mapping of plant functional traits, community composition, and the detection of plant species and disease; and recent developments utilizing spectra as integrative measures of plant phenotypes. Spectra of plants integrate many aspects of plant form and function. Through this link to plant functional ecology, spectroscopy can integrate previously disparate sectors of biodiversity science and remote sensing; integration that is needed to fully harness the potential of Earth observation for global biodiversity assessment and protection.