Spatial ecology and remote sensing
Spatial Ecology and Remote Sensing
Solar radiation and its partitioning in vegetation canopies is an important factor influencing ecosystem processes such as decomposition, plant growth, species competition, and succession. On the other hand the land surface-atmosphere interaction, including fluxes of carbon, energy, and water, is highly depending on the vegetation type. Our aim is to develop, map and apply continuous vegetation variables (e.g. albedo, leaf area index, plant functional type fractional cover) and landscape proxies relevant to ecosystem and climate processes (e.g. vegetation successional development and biodiversity, energy partitioning, methane emissions), as eventual input to ecosystem and climate models. We use spectro-directional remote sensing data from leaf to ecosystem scale, integrating field observations (spectral reflectance, species composition, leaf area index) to satellite imagery. Our current focus lies on the Siberian Arctic tundra, including permafrost, and peatland ecosystems. To improve the quality of the satellite-inferred variables, we are contributing to international efforts on the definition and validation of reflectance and land surface albedo products.
Research topics
Remote sensing of vegetation
Energy fluxes in tundra ecosystems and peatlands
Arctic climate change
Radiation-vegetation interaction
Land surface albedo
Reflectance and albedo definitions
Interdisciplinary
Climate modelling
Carbon cycle
Vegetation successional development
Peatland ecosystem processes
