Effects of foliar dust on plant reflectance spectra and physiological ecology: A review

With the intensified impact of human activities on the environment, fine particle groups increase in size, complexity and damage. The tiny particles or dust are closely related to haze, having negative influence not only on human health but also on vegetation reflectance spectra and physiological ecology. This paper summarizes the relationship between haze and foliar dust, which can well represent the composition of atmospheric particles. The atmospheric particulates form foliar dust by attaching to the surface of plant leaves under gravity and other factors. Foliar dust decreases spectral reflectance of plant, affecting plant growth, leaf morphology and photosynthetic efficiency. The review analyzes the current existing problems in research on foliar dust in terms of the research scope, extent, and methods. It points out that more experiments of measurement and validation are needed to understand the effect of foliar dust on the various aspects of plants in order to reduce the damage of foliar dust to plant productivity. This paper concludes that foliar dust has obvious correlation with plant leaf reflectance spectra and parameters of leaf image, that researching the effect of foliar dust on plant leaf reflectance spectra is a complex and relatively new field, and that more systematic research is needed to clarify such effect so as to further improve the management and ecological functions of forests.