Airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy to map forest trait diversity and guide conservation

Abstract

Airborne spectroscopy for forest traits The development of conservation priorities in the tropics is often hampered by the sparseness of ground data on biological diversity and the relative crudeness of larger-scale remote sensing data. Asner et al. developed airborne instrumentation to make large-scale maps of forest functional diversity across 72 million hectares of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon basin (see the Perspective by Kapos). They generated a suite of forest canopy functional trait maps from laser-guided imaging spectroscopy and used them to define distinct forest functional classes. These were then compared with government deforestation and land allocation data, which enabled an analysis of conservation threats and opportunities across the region. Science , this issue p. 385 ; see also p. 347