Mapping functional diversity from remotely sensed morphological and physiological forest traits

Schneider, Fabian; Morsdorf, Felix; Schmid, Bernhard; Petchey, Owen L.; Hueni, Andreas; Schimel, David; Schaepman, Michael E.

doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01530-3

Cited by 263 publications

(300 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Féret & Asner ), ‘spectral species’ (Féret & Asner ), or plant functional traits (e.g. Dahlin et al ; Schneider et al ). While spectral diversity does not isolate any particular facet of plant biodiversity (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partitioning plant spectral diversity into alpha and beta components

2019

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Plant spectral diversity – how plants differentially interact with solar radiation – is an integrator of plant chemical, structural, and taxonomic diversity that can be remotely sensed. We propose to measure spectral diversity as spectral variance, which allows the partitioning of the spectral diversity of a region, called spectral gamma (γ) diversity, into additive alpha (α; within communities) and beta (β; among communities) components. Our method calculates the contributions of individual bands or spectral features to spectral γ‐, β‐, and α‐diversity, as well as the contributions of individual plant communities to spectral diversity. We present two case studies illustrating how our approach can identify 'hotspots’ of spectral α‐diversity within a region, and discover spectrally unique areas that contribute strongly to β‐diversity. Partitioning spectral diversity and mapping its spatial components has many applications for conservation since high local diversity and distinctiveness in composition are two key criteria used to determine the ecological value of ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partitioning plant spectral diversity into alpha and beta components

2019

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“…Only functionally similar species can survive, causing low functional diversity not only in these saline and extreme ecosystems, but also in intermittent streams, where droughts (extreme events) also have negative effects on the functional diatom diversity (B.‐Béres et al, ). As in terrestrial plant communities, low functional diversity is also characteristic in mountains with specific environmental conditions (Schneider et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait‐based diatom functional diversity as an appropriate tool for understanding the effects of environmental changes in soda pans

Stenger‐Kovács

Lengyel

Buczkó

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Saline lakes, among the most seriously endangered ecosystems, are threatened due to climate change and human activities. One valuable feature of these environments is that they constitute areas of high biodiversity. Ecologists are, therefore, under great pressure to improve their understanding of the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on the biodiversity of saline lakes. In this study, a total of 257 samples from 32 soda pans in Central Europe between 2006 and 2015 were examined. The effects of environmental variables and of geographical and limnoecological factors on functional diversity were analyzed. Furthermore, the explanatory power of the trait-based approach was assessed, and the applicability of the indices for biomonitoring purposes was determined. It was found that low habitat heterogeneity and harsh environments lead to the selection of a small number of suitable traits, and consequently, to a naturally low level of functional diversity. Anthropogenic activities enhance diversity at functional level due to the shift toward freshwater characteristics. On the regional scale, the effects of the region and status (natural, degraded, reconstructed) on diatom functional diversity were significant and more pronounced than that of the environmental and other limnoecological factors. The degree of variance found in functional diversity ascribed to environmental variables is five times greater in the case of the application of a trait-based approach, than when a taxonomic one is employed in the literature. Each of the tested functional diversity indices was sensitive to the most important environmental variables. Furthermore, these were type-specific and proved to be more complex indicators than taxonomic metrics. It is possible to suggest four functional diversity indices (FGR, FRic, FDis, and FDiv) which emphasize their independence from substrate and seasonal variations for ecological status assessment and conservation planning. K E Y W O R D Sconservation, diversity indices, ecological status, environmental constrains, saline ecosystems | 321 STENGER-KOVÁCS ET al.

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“…; Schneider et al . ), we are now in a position to comprehensively assess the relative importance of different topographic features in driving heterogeneity in the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes

et al. 2018

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Topography is a key driver of tropical forest structure and composition, as it constrains local nutrient and hydraulic conditions within which trees grow. Yet, we do not fully understand how changes in forest physiognomy driven by topography impact other emergent properties of forests, such as their aboveground carbon density (ACD). Working in Borneo - at a site where 70-m-tall forests in alluvial valleys rapidly transition to stunted heath forests on nutrient-depleted dip slopes - we combined field data with airborne laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging to characterise how topography shapes the vertical structure, wood density, diversity and ACD of nearly 15 km of old-growth forest. We found that subtle differences in elevation - which control soil chemistry and hydrology - profoundly influenced the structure, composition and diversity of the canopy. Capturing these processes was critical to explaining landscape-scale heterogeneity in ACD, highlighting how emerging remote sensing technologies can provide new insights into long-standing ecological questions.

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Mapping functional diversity from remotely sensed morphological and physiological forest traits

Cited by 263 publications

References 76 publications

Partitioning plant spectral diversity into alpha and beta components

Partitioning plant spectral diversity into alpha and beta components

Trait‐based diatom functional diversity as an appropriate tool for understanding the effects of environmental changes in soda pans

Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes

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