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Remote sensing of ecosystem structure and processes


Conveners


Yangjian Zhang

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS

China


Yongguang Zhang

Nanjing University

China


 

Session Description


Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) is traditionally relied on intensive field observation and monitoring, which can provide time series and plot scale observation data. In the new era, LTER has a stronger mission to provide monitoring data above the plot scale, i.e. landscape or regional scales. Remote sensing technique arrives right in time to fill in this technique gap.

       Remote sensing can provide data about time-series and large-scale dynamics of ecosystems. We can also retrieve information for those regions inaccessible by human beings with the aid of remote sensing. Propelled by equipment technique development, remote sensing is advancing to the directions of high spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions. Lidar can generate structure height of land surface items and Microwave remote sensing can monitor ecosystem status below canopy. So the new generation of remote sensing can generate a variety of indices and products about ecosystem studies, including ecosystem structures and processes, which represent a technique revolution on ecosystem studies. The new generation LTER station put higher demand on the ground-sky-space coupling and this mission can’t be achieved without remote sensing applications.

       The objective of this session is to learn about the status and future vision of remote sensing technique applications on ecosystem studies and the related scientific frontiers. The contents of the oral presentation or posters include, but not limited to, remote sensing on community structure at a plot scale, on ecosystem structure and processes at a landscape scale and beyond.


 

Session Justification


This session falls into the general topic themes of type D (New technologies and infrastructures for ecosystem research).

Ecosystem studies have entered the era of addressing large scale environmental and social development issues. The traditional field measurements, observation and experiments are incapable of meeting these needs. Technology developments have greatly boosted the remote sensing application on ecosystem studies. The participants of this session will introduce advance, status and future directions of remote sensing applications on ecosystem studies, including ecosystem structure and processes. Through this session, participants will master the scientific frontier of this field and the development of the related remote sensing technique.


 

One Sentence Session Summary


This session is to convene oral presentations or posters to introduce their work on remote sensing applications on community structure at a plot scale, ecosystem structure or processes studies at a landscape scale or beyond. 

Special Session

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