OEB 172 Remote Sensing for Biodiversity and Ecology

Instructors: Paul Moorcroft and Jeannine Cavender-Bares

Tuesdays/Thursdays 12:00 - 1:15 PM

This course will examine how increasingly available remote sensing technologies can advance the study of plant biodiversity, ecosystem function and ecology. The course will include conceptual lectures, hands-on computational exercises, a course project, and an overnight field trip to the Harvard Forest. 

Topics covered will include:

Fundamental principles of optical remote sensing.

Using spectroscopic imagery to identify tree species and measure functional biodiversity of forests.

Using LiDAR to measure forest canopy structure and productivity.

Measuring plant photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence in the lab and estimating ecosystem productivity using solar-induced fluorescence.

Tracking ecosystem dynamics with RADAR.

Recommended Preparation: An undergraduate course in ecology and/or plant biology, or permission of the instructors.