The collection of data on changes in plant biodiversity is required for global assessments. In the future, plant communities can be monitored using satellite, thanks to the research done by the universities of Montréal and Zurich. Near real-time global monitoring is one of the things this paves the way for.
It is necessary to have comparable data on biodiversity in order to counteract the negative effects of global loss. Current monitoring is labor-intensive and expensive. Many places around the world are difficult to reach.
Satellite can be used to monitor biodiversity from space.
Anna Schweiger from the Department of Geography, University ofZURICH and Etienne Lalibert from the University of Montr have shown that plant diversity can be found in a wide range of environments. The goal is to provide evidence-based guidance for policy measures to protect species.
The visible to the short wave range of the spectrum can be measured with an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth an iwth Plants with similar characteristics, as well as closely related species, tend to have the same reflectance spectrum.
The characteristics of individual plants and plant communities can be assessed using reflected light.
The current study is a continuation of the work done by the researchers. They calculate the variation among plants in a community. The diversity within communities is called alpha-diversity.
The data for the study came from the NEON. The network uses a variety of methods to collect data and make it public. The NEON data has a 1x1 meter size.
The detection of alpha-diversity depends on plant size. In forests with closed canopies and large individual trees, the plant diversity on the ground is better than in open landscapes. Differences in plant community composition were captured by the spatial resolution of 20x20 meters. This is the size of the vegetation inventory plots.
Monitoring global biodiversity in real time.
The European Space Agency and the North American NASA are both working on satellite-based image spectrometers. The globe will be imaged every 16 days with a 30x30 meter resolution. The study shows that the data should allow detecting changes in the community. Anna Schweiger says that this will allow for targeted field campaigns to assess the causes and consequences of change. According to Schweiger, global monitoring of biodiversity is within reach.
More information: Plant beta-diversity across biomes captured by imaging spectroscopy, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30369-6 Journal information: Nature Communications Citation: Satellite monitoring of biodiversity moves within reach (2022, May 19) retrieved 19 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-satellite-biodiversity.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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