When can we detect lianas from space? Toward a mechanistic understanding of liana‐infested forest optics

作者：Marco D. Visser, Matteo Detto, Félicien Meunier, Jin Wu, Jane R. Foster, David C. Marvin, Peter M. van Bodegom, Boris Bongalov, Matheus Henrique Nunes, David A. Coomes, Hans Verbeeck, J. Antonio Guzmán Q., Arturo Sánchez‐Azofeifa, Chris J. Chandler, Geertje van der Heijden, Doreen S. Boyd, Giles M. Foody, Mark Cutler, Eben N. Broadbent, Shawn Serbin, Stefan A. Schnitzer, M. Elizabeth Rodríguez‐Ronderos, Frank J. Sterck, José A. Medina‐Vega, Stephen W. Pacala · 发表于：Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/ecy.70082 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Remote Sensing in Agriculture、Plant and animal studies、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Lianas, woody vines acting as structural parasites of trees, have profound effects on the composition and structure of tropical forests, impacting tree growth, mortality, and forest succession. Remote sensing could offer a powerful tool for quantifying the scale of liana infestation, provided the availability of robust detection methods. We analyze the consistency and global geographic specificity of spectral signals-reflectance across wavelengths-from liana-infested tree crowns and forest stands, examining the underlying mechanisms of these signals. We compiled a uniquely comprehensive database, including leaf reflectance spectra from 5424 leaves, fine-scale airborne reflectance data from 999 liana-infested canopies, and coarse-scale satellite reflectance data covering 775 ha of liana-infested forest stands. To unravel the mechanisms of the liana spectral signal, we applied mechanistic radiative transfer models across scales, establishing a synthesis of the relative importance of different mechanisms, which we corroborate with field data on liana leaf chemistry and canopy structure. We find a consistent liana spectral signal at canopy and stand scales across globally distributed sites. This signature mainly arises at the canopy level due to direct effects of more horizontal leaf angles, resulting in a larger projected leaf area, and indirect effects from increased light scattering in the near and short-wave infrared regions, linked to lianas' less costly leaf construction co...