NASA researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery about wildflowers, revealing that aircraft and space-based instruments can use color to track seasonal flower cycles. The study, which surveyed thousands of acres of nature preserve in California, suggests a potential new tool for farmers and natural-resource managers who rely on flowering plants.
Using an imaging spectrometer, the scientists mapped the landscape in hundreds of wavelengths of light, capturing flowers as they blossomed and aged over months. This technology has been used before to track vegetation, but this is the first time it’s been deployed to study flowering plants steadily through the growing season.
Flowering is timed to seasonal swings in temperature, daylight, and precipitation, and scientists are taking a closer look at the relationship between plant life and seasons to understand how rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may be impacting ecosystems. By analyzing the color of flowers, researchers can track blooms on a large scale and identify different flowering stages with high accuracy.
The study used a technology built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to analyze the spectral fingerprint of wildflowers, allowing scientists to tease out subtle differences among flowers, leaves, and background cover. The results show that the instrument was able to capture 97% of the spectral differences and identify superblooms, which are phenomenon where vast patches of desert flowers bloom after heavy rains.
This research opens up new possibilities for air- and space-based studies of flowering plants, representing about 90% of all plant species on land. The study’s lead author, Yoseline Angel, hopes that this technology will support farmers and natural resource managers who depend on these species along with insects and other pollinators in their midst.
The discovery highlights the power of using advanced technologies to monitor environmental changes and make new discoveries about the natural world.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-takes-to-the-air-to-study-wildflowers