Remote sensing technologies and techniques provide a critical link in improving our understanding of ecological processes as they scale measurements of single leaves and plants to entire ecosystems. Growing availability of both advanced sensor technologies and data collected by these sensors has spurred the development of new methods and applications. These cutting-edge applications are rapidly advancing our ability to measure and map ecosystem composition, structure, and function, and leverage these measurements to strengthen links between such observations and broad-scale biospheric processes and disturbances. Passive (optical multi- and hyperspectral, and thermal infrared) and active (lidar and radar) sensors enable scientists to make complementary ecological measurements at a range of spatial scales.These sensors can collect data on the ground, over smaller, targeted areas of interest on platforms such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS/UAV), over broader regions when mounted on aircraft, and globally via satellite platforms. In particular, sensors mounted on aerial platforms, such as UAS, are becoming increasingly important for bridging ground and spaceborne observations. Relevant and exciting advances in ecological applications of remote sensing include using lidar data to characterize vegetation structure and imaging spectroscopy (hyperspectral) data to map plant species composition and measure plant function. This session will include speakers working with lidar, hyperspectral, and thermal to improve our ability to measure carbon & photosynthesis, vegetation structure and change, drought impacts, and plant species over a range of scales and across various ecosystems.