Project context
Plant species invasions are among the most important threats to the functioning of the earth’s ecosystems. Invasion biologists have mainly focused so far on the effects that invasive plant species have on native populations and communities. The response of ecosystem functioning to invasion has received considerably less attention. Although it has been proposed that invasive species impact can be predicted based on a comparative analysis of their functional traits and these of the native community, this approach has rarely been used and is potentially compounded with problems regarding feasibility and potential for generalization. Here, we will explore the capability of new remote sensing instruments to define optically distinguishable functional types (‘optical types’) as a means to quantify the effects of invasive plants on ecosystem functioning. Current state-of-the-art hyperspectral sensors allow to characterize the vegetation chemistry and canopy water content, as such allowing a discrimination between subtle physiological differences among plant species, and at the same time providing a straightforward link to ecosystem effects of the species. We predict that the optical types to be developed will outperform, or at least complement, the conventional functional trait approach when predicting changes in ecosystem functioning through plant invasion, both regarding accuracy and potential for generalization up to larger spatial scales.
Objectives
The general objective of this research proposal is to develop a novel ‘optical types’-based approach to evaluate and to predict the impact of invasive plant species on ecosystem functioning.
Visit the INPLANT project on the Belgian Earth Observation website