Underground Plant Processes

Research by MSI PI Jeannine Cavender-Bares (professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior) is the lead author on a study that describes using remote sensing techniques to determine underground plant and soil processes based on their aboveground traits. This has important implications for understanding how biogeochemical cycles work. The research is described in a U of M Research Brief: Eye in the Sky Helps Scientists See Underground.

The paper can be found on the Ecological Monographs website: Remotely Detected Aboveground Plant Function Predicts Belowground Processes in Two Prairie Diversity Experiments.

Part of the research was done at the U of M’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Several MSI PIs are Principal Investigators at Cedar Creek.

Professor Cavender-Bares uses MSI to support research into using remote sensing to various forms of diversity in plants.