Individual Plant Species' Occurrences and Habitat Preferences Are Related to Variation in Community-Level Reflectance in Grasslands
Löfgren, Oskar LU ; Hall, Karin LU ; Astor, Thomas and Prentice, Honor Clare LU
(2026)
In Applied Vegetation Science
29(1).
- Abstract
Questions: Earth observation is an important tool in biological monitoring. Previous studies have shown that variation in grassland canopy reflectance can explain gradients in plant community composition. However, there is a need for methods that allow the interpretation of the overall spectral signal of complex grassland vegetation in terms of existing knowledge about individual species' habitat preferences. Can community-level grassland canopy reflectance be interpreted in terms of the distribution patterns and habitat preferences of individual plant species?. Location: The island of Öland, Sweden. The sites represent a succession from grazed grassland on previously arable fields to old semi-natural pastures. Methods: We collected... (More)
Questions: Earth observation is an important tool in biological monitoring. Previous studies have shown that variation in grassland canopy reflectance can explain gradients in plant community composition. However, there is a need for methods that allow the interpretation of the overall spectral signal of complex grassland vegetation in terms of existing knowledge about individual species' habitat preferences. Can community-level grassland canopy reflectance be interpreted in terms of the distribution patterns and habitat preferences of individual plant species?. Location: The island of Öland, Sweden. The sites represent a succession from grazed grassland on previously arable fields to old semi-natural pastures. Methods: We collected data on plant species occurrences and mean hyperspectral reflectance (414–2351 nm) during peak vegetation season in 104 (4 m × 4 m) field plots. We simplified the spectral data into orthogonal components using Principal Component Analysis. Joint species distribution modelling was used to analyse 100 species' relationships with the components. Information on species' habitat preferences was included to explain species' model-responses. Results: Grassland canopy reflectance was associated with variation in the occurrences of individual plant species (41 species with Tjur's D > 0.15, 15 species with D > 0.30), particularly species with distinct habitat preferences. The main gradient in the reflectance data—representing features in the red, blue, SWIR and NIR spectra—was associated with species' preferences for mineral nitrogen availability. In contrast, species' phosphate preferences showed stronger associations with reflectance in the green and red-edge spectra. Conclusions: Data on individual species and their habitat preferences can be used to interpret patterns of variation in community-level canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands. Vegetation in phosphorus-poor grasslands—which are valuable for biodiversity conservation—showed a consistent pattern (characterised by features in the green and red-edge) in the spectral data.
(Less)
- author
- Löfgren, Oskar
LU
; Hall, Karin
LU
; Astor, Thomas
and Prentice, Honor Clare
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-01-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- ecological remote sensing, hyperspectral remote sensing, joint species distribution modelling, nitrogen, phosphorus, plant community composition, semi-natural grasslands, soil nutrients, succession, Öland
- in
- Applied Vegetation Science
- volume
- 29
- issue
- 1
- article number
- e70060
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105030669595
- ISSN
- 1402-2001
- DOI
- 10.1111/avsc.70060
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2026 International Association for Vegetation Science.
- id
- 88e095c6-b111-4661-a3ec-35ccd228cf41
- date added to LUP
- 2026-03-10 13:21:23
- date last changed
- 2026-03-11 02:26:46
@article{88e095c6-b111-4661-a3ec-35ccd228cf41,
abstract = {{<p>Questions: Earth observation is an important tool in biological monitoring. Previous studies have shown that variation in grassland canopy reflectance can explain gradients in plant community composition. However, there is a need for methods that allow the interpretation of the overall spectral signal of complex grassland vegetation in terms of existing knowledge about individual species' habitat preferences. Can community-level grassland canopy reflectance be interpreted in terms of the distribution patterns and habitat preferences of individual plant species?. Location: The island of Öland, Sweden. The sites represent a succession from grazed grassland on previously arable fields to old semi-natural pastures. Methods: We collected data on plant species occurrences and mean hyperspectral reflectance (414–2351 nm) during peak vegetation season in 104 (4 m × 4 m) field plots. We simplified the spectral data into orthogonal components using Principal Component Analysis. Joint species distribution modelling was used to analyse 100 species' relationships with the components. Information on species' habitat preferences was included to explain species' model-responses. Results: Grassland canopy reflectance was associated with variation in the occurrences of individual plant species (41 species with Tjur's D > 0.15, 15 species with D > 0.30), particularly species with distinct habitat preferences. The main gradient in the reflectance data—representing features in the red, blue, SWIR and NIR spectra—was associated with species' preferences for mineral nitrogen availability. In contrast, species' phosphate preferences showed stronger associations with reflectance in the green and red-edge spectra. Conclusions: Data on individual species and their habitat preferences can be used to interpret patterns of variation in community-level canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands. Vegetation in phosphorus-poor grasslands—which are valuable for biodiversity conservation—showed a consistent pattern (characterised by features in the green and red-edge) in the spectral data.</p>}},
author = {{Löfgren, Oskar and Hall, Karin and Astor, Thomas and Prentice, Honor Clare}},
issn = {{1402-2001}},
keywords = {{ecological remote sensing; hyperspectral remote sensing; joint species distribution modelling; nitrogen; phosphorus; plant community composition; semi-natural grasslands; soil nutrients; succession; Öland}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Applied Vegetation Science}},
title = {{Individual Plant Species' Occurrences and Habitat Preferences Are Related to Variation in Community-Level Reflectance in Grasslands}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70060}},
doi = {{10.1111/avsc.70060}},
volume = {{29}},
year = {{2026}},
}