Radiative transfer modelling reveals why canopy reflectance follows function

Optical remote sensing is potentially highly informative to track Earth's plant functional diversity. Yet, causal explanations of how and why plant functioning is expressed in canopy reflectance remain limited. Variation in canopy reflectance can be described by radiative transfer models (here PROSAIL) that incorporate plant traits affecting light transmission in canopies. To establish causal links between canopy reflectance and plant...