News release: Sunlight and aircraft help scientists assess how the diversity of life affects ecosystems

November 11, 2020

 

Cloquet research plot

A University of Minnesota-led research team has developed new methods to assess how biodiversity loss impacts forest ecosystems by determining how sunlight reflects off the surface of the forest canopy using spectral images taken from an airplane. The research, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, lays the foundation for measuring the consequences of changes in biodiversity on ecosystem function remotely at a significant scale. Read more