Monitoring Long-Term Forest Growth and Dynamics at Various Spatial Scales Using Remote Sensing Approaches

Forests are critical ecosystems for human life and carbon sink. Due to both natural and anthropogenic factors, forest ecosystems are facing challenges regarding vegetation dynamics in forest growth, forest structure, population density, and species composition. It is critical to understand long-term forest dynamics over different scales in various forest ecosystems under the impact of different natural and anthropogenic factors. Scientists have observed those vegetation dynamics in various forest ecosystems, which were caused by climate change, pollution, the consumption of natural resources, migration and growth of human populations, or the combined impacts of those factors. In the long term, a full understanding of how vegetation dynamics relate to those driving factors is still lacking, especially in forest ecosystems and under various spatial scales. Therefore, it is important to monitor long-term vegetation dynamics in forest ecosystems and explore the driving factors and the dominant factors under various spatial scales.

Remote sensing, with various temporal and spatial resolutions, is a promising approach for monitoring biophysical parameters as indicators of vegetation dynamics, especially long-term vegetation dynamics under various spatial scales. This research topic will focus on remote sensing applications on long-term vegetation dynamics and the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation dynamics in forest ecosystems. The topics and aspects for long-term vegetation dynamics in forest ecosystems could be historical changes and the current vegetation growth status, species composition, and diversity, population density, or vegetation migration under various spatial scales. The goal of this research topic is also to explore dominant factors for long-term vegetation dynamics under various spatial scales.

This Research Topic brings together research across various disciplines, with insights, new methods, and findings based on remote sensing approaches of long-term monitoring of vegetation dynamics with a multi-spatial perspective. Studies of vegetation dynamics in all types of forest ecosystems will be welcome, including, but not limited to, rain forests, mangrove forests, subtropical evergreen forests, broadleaved deciduous forests, mixed forests, boreal forests, forest-grassland transition ecotones, and forest plantation. Contributions may include, but are not limited to:
• Spatial heterogeneity of long-term vegetation dynamics
• Innovative approach for long-term vegetation monitoring using remote sensing
• Response of vegetation dynamics to climate change
• Ecological degradation and the impact factors
• Effectiveness of ecosystem management
• Plant regeneration after ecological disturbance or pressure
• the impact of human activities on vegetation growth
• Vegetation response to nitrogen deposition

Keywords: Long-term Vegetation dynamics, Terrestrial ecosystems, Disturbance, Climate change, Anthropogenic impact, Remote sensing, Satellite images, Various spatial scales

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.