385
© The Author(s) 2020
J. Cavender-Bares et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing of Plant Biodiversity,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33157-3_15
Chapter 15
Spectral Field Campaigns: Planning
and Data Collection
Anna K. Schweiger
15.1 Introduction
Field spectrometry is the measurement of spectral properties of (Earth) surface features in the environment (McCoy 2005) and is particularly relevant to plant biodiversity detection. Generally, molecular composition and arrangement and scattering
properties of the measured media influence the spectral response (Goetz et al. 1985).
Spectral characteristics of plants depend on chemical, structural, anatomical, and
morphological leaf characteristics and whole plant traits, including plant height and
shape, canopy architecture, branching structure, and the distribution of foliage
within canopies (Cavender-Bares et al. 2017; Ustin and Gamon 2010; Serbin and
Townsend, Chap. 3; Ustin and Jacquemoud, Chap. 14). Plant spectra provide a
wealth of information about how plants use nutrients, light, and water; how these
resources are shared within plant communities; and how patterns of resource use
influence ecosystem functions and processes, including nutrient and water cycling
and the provisioning of resources and habitat for other trophic levels. Spectroscopy
of vegetation and plant biodiversity is part of the larger field of biophysics, which
uses theories and methods of physics, such as optics, to understand biological
systems.
For a long time, field campaigns were regarded as relatively unimportant for
remote sensing (RS) studies. Using the term “ground data” or, more generally,
“surface reference data” instead of “ground truth” has been suggested, since the latter implies that field data can be easily collected and are relatively “error-free”
A. K. Schweiger (*)
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota,
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
© The Author(s) 2020
J. Cavender-Bares et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing of Plant Biodiversity,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33157-3_15
Chapter 15
Spectral Field Campaigns: Planning
and Data Collection
Anna K. Schweiger
15.1 Introduction
Field spectrometry is the measurement of spectral properties of (Earth) surface features in the environment (McCoy 2005) and is particularly relevant to plant biodiversity detection. Generally, molecular composition and arrangement and scattering
properties of the measured media influence the spectral response (Goetz et al. 1985).
Spectral characteristics of plants depend on chemical, structural, anatomical, and
morphological leaf characteristics and whole plant traits, including plant height and
shape, canopy architecture, branching structure, and the distribution of foliage
within canopies (Cavender-Bares et al. 2017; Ustin and Gamon 2010; Serbin and
Townsend, Chap. 3; Ustin and Jacquemoud, Chap. 14). Plant spectra provide a
wealth of information about how plants use nutrients, light, and water; how these
resources are shared within plant communities; and how patterns of resource use
influence ecosystem functions and processes, including nutrient and water cycling
and the provisioning of resources and habitat for other trophic levels. Spectroscopy
of vegetation and plant biodiversity is part of the larger field of biophysics, which
uses theories and methods of physics, such as optics, to understand biological
systems.
For a long time, field campaigns were regarded as relatively unimportant for
remote sensing (RS) studies. Using the term “ground data” or, more generally,
“surface reference data” instead of “ground truth” has been suggested, since the latter implies that field data can be easily collected and are relatively “error-free”
A. K. Schweiger (*)
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota,
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada