Field of research

Using remote sensing to develop dynamic indicators of ecosystem health in times of global change: from forest drought to plant invasions

The proposed project consists of two thematically different topics. The first topic is to develop a first assessment of the status of forests in the Federal state of Hesse using dynamic habitat indicators (DHIs). DHIs present an opportunity to study geographic patterns of different phenological characteristics based on functionality indices. The second topic is the invasion by non-native plant species. Invasive species demonstrate a major threat to ecosystem services and biodiversity and ecosystem health. Invasive species can cause significant damages to human livelihood because they made some alternations in e.g. nutrient and water cycling, fire regimes, or energy budgets of native plant species and ecosystems.