Observing Ecosystems From Space
On our rapidly changing Earth, “seeing” where and why ecosystems are changing is critical to planetary stewardship. Spectral biology is a rapidly evolving science that enables researchers to gather detailed information about ecosystems and the complexities of biodiversity around us and across the globe—from space!
Image by Daniel Tschanz from Cavender-Bares et al. 2022.
About the Speaker
Jeannine Cavender-Bares is professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, director of the Harvard University Herbaria, and director of the ASCEND program, part of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Biology Integration Institutes. Her team’s work focuses on the physiological and evolutionary dimensions of plant ecology that influence community assembly and ecosystem function. The team is particularly interested in the genetic and evolutionary basis of variation in plant phenotypes and spectral properties that can be detected at scales from leaves to landscapes.