Ecosystem Physiology Breakout Group

1. Ecosystem Physiology Breakout Group • Ecosystem physiology is the essential link between what a satellite sees and what an ecosystem is doing. As such, a strong understanding of ecosystem physiology, as summarized quantitatively in mechanistic models, is essential if NASA hopes to bridge the gap between the things it can measure and the questions it has promised to address. • Regional applications (e.g. management of natural lands) may prove to be a more important use of remote sensing/ecosystem physiology than global change applications. • Maintaining continuity of existing satellite data sets is critical for understanding decadal and longer dynamics and for detecting and attributing large scale ecosystem changes/impacts.

2. In situ measurements for ground validation are essential for producing useful satellite-based data sets of ecosystem physiology. • Several members of the group made forceful arguments for the need to shift from an emphasis on Remote Sensing Indices to an emphasis on Remote Measurement of physical and biological quantities • Several members of the group emphasized the need to combine and synthesize multiple types of spatial data including biological and physical data. • The group strongly endorsed a mission dedicated to ecosystem function, chemistry, and physiology in concert with a 3-D structure mission. • An alternative name: ecosystem resilience and vulnerability