About this Research Topic
Quantifying temporal changes in plant geometry as a result of genetic, developmental, or environmental causes is essential to improve our understanding of the structure and function relationships in plants. Over the last decades, optical imaging and remote sensing developed fundamental working tools to monitor and quantify our environment and plants in particular. Increased efficiency of methods lowered the barrier to compare, integrate, and interpret the optically obtained plant data across larger spatial scales and across scales of biological organization. In particular, acquisition speed at high resolutions reached levels that allow capturing the temporal dynamics in plants in three dimensions along with multi-spectral information beyond human visual senses. These advanced imaging capabilities have proven to be essential to detect and focus on analyzing temporal dynamics of plant geometries.
The focus of this Research Topic is on optical techniques developed to study geometrical changes at the plant level detected within the wavelength spectrum between near-UV to near infrared. Such techniques typically involve photogrammetric, LiDAR, or imaging spectroscopy approaches but are not exclusively restricted to these. Instruments operating within this range of wavelengths allow capturing a wide range of temporal scales ranging from sub-second to seasonal changes that result from plant development, environmental effects like wind and heat, or genetically controlled adaption to environmental conditions. Submissions are welcomed from all experimental settings such as field studies, greenhouse experiments, or laboratory settings. Additionally, we welcome numerical simulations that elucidate on optically observed phenomena in experiments. Submission of the following article types is suggested: Original Research, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, and Reviews.
Examples of included research themes:
- Change detection in individual trees and plants due to environmental stresses including pests, diseases, and drought
- Detection and modeling of root growth and development
- Circadian and seasonal rhythm in plant structure
- Change detection in vegetation structure
- Monitoring of crop and fruit ripening
The focus of this Research Topic is on optical techniques developed to study geometrical changes at the plant level detected within the wavelength spectrum between near-UV to near infrared. Such techniques typically involve photogrammetric, LiDAR, or imaging spectroscopy approaches but are not exclusively restricted to these. Instruments operating within this range of wavelengths allow capturing a wide range of temporal scales ranging from sub-second to seasonal changes that result from plant development, environmental effects like wind and heat, or genetically controlled adaption to environmental conditions. Submissions are welcomed from all experimental settings such as field studies, greenhouse experiments, or laboratory settings. Additionally, we welcome numerical simulations that elucidate on optically observed phenomena in experiments. Submission of the following article types is suggested: Original Research, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, and Reviews.
Examples of included research themes:
- Change detection in individual trees and plants due to environmental stresses including pests, diseases, and drought
- Detection and modeling of root growth and development
- Circadian and seasonal rhythm in plant structure
- Change detection in vegetation structure
- Monitoring of crop and fruit ripening
Keywords: plant growth, plant development, geometric changes in plants, seasonal changes in vegetation structure
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
