Vegetation-light Interactions, Biodiversity Measurement from Space

The varying radiation regime has an impact on plant growth. We use physically based models of soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer (and their inverse) to assess ecosystem level vegetation structure (or architecture) and biochemistry. Focus is on using 1D and 3D radiative transfer models specializing on retrieval of plant pigments (Chl a/b, Carotenoids, Anthocyanin), non-pigments (leaf water), and structure (LAI, leaf inclination angle, etc.). We use in-situ, airborne and spaceborne instruments in combination with inverse modeling of those radiative transfer models to retrieve those parameters. We also improve models of NPP by using advanced Light Use Efficiency (LUE) proxies, including steady-state Chlorophyll fluorescence in the O₂absorption line. We are interested in large scale changes of those parameters, allowing to model spatiotemporal changes of growth limiting factors, biochemistry and structure in a changing environment.

• Genomics meets remote sensing in global change studies: monitoring and predicting phenology, evolution and biodiversity
  Yamasaki, E; Altermatt, F; Cavender-Bares, J; Schuman, MC; Zuppinger-Dingley, D; Garonna, I; Schneider, FD; Guillen-Escriba, C; van Moorsel, SJ; Hahl, T; Schmid, B; Schaepman-Strub, G; Schaepman, ME; Shimizu, KK
  CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 29 177-186; 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.03.005 DEC 2017
• Integrative research efforts at the boundary of biodiversity and global change research
  Abiven, S; Altermatt, F; Backhaus, N; Deplazes-Zemp, A; Furrer, R; Korf, B; Niklaus, PA; Schaepman-Strub, G; Shimizu, KK; Zuppinger-Dingley, D; Petchey, OL; Schaepman, ME
  CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, 29 215-222; 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.04.016 DEC 2017
• A Multisquint Framework for Change Detection in High-Resolution Multitemporal SAR Images
  Dominguez, Elias Mendez; Meier, Erich; Small, David; Schaepman, Michael E.; Bruzzone, Lorenzo; Henke, Daniel
  IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING, 56 (6):3611-3623; 10.1109/TGRS.2018.2805471 JUN 2018
• The Nagoya Protocol could backfire on the Global South
  Deplazes-Zemp, A; Abiven, S; Schaber, P; Schaepman, M; Schaepman-Strub, G; Schmid, B; Shimizu, KK; Altermatt, F
  NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2 (6):917-919; 10.1038/s41559-018-0561-z JUN 2018
• Predicting Missing Values in Spatio-Temporal Remote Sensing Data
  Gerber, Florian; de Jong, Rogier; Schaepman, Michael E.; Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela; Furrer, Reinhard
  IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING, 56 (5):2841-2853; 10.1109/TGRS.2017.2785240 MAY 2018
• Spatio-temporal trends and trade-offs in ecosystem services: An Earth observation based assessment for Switzerland between 2004 and 2014
  Braun, Daniela; Damm, Alexander; Hein, Lars; Petchey, Owen L.; Schaepman, Michael E.
  ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS, 89 828-839; 10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.10.016 JUN 2018
• Relative Influence of Timing and Accumulation of Snow on Alpine Land Surface Phenology
  Xie, Jing; Kneubuhler, Mathias; Garonna, Irene; de Jong, Rogier; Notarnicola, Claudia; De Gregorio, Ludovica; Schaepman, Michael E.
  JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES, 123 (2):561-576; 10.1002/2017JG004099 FEB 2018
• Shifting relative importance of climatic constraints on land surface phenology 
  Garonna, Irene; de Jong, Rogier; Stockli, Reto; et al. 
  ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 13 (2): FEB 2018 Article (Details)
• Using Multitemporal Sentinel-1 C-band Backscatter to Monitor Phenology and Classify Deciduous and Coniferous Forests in Northern Switzerland 
  Rueetschi, Marius; Schaepman, Michael E.; Small, David 
  REMOTE SENSING, 10 (1): JAN 2018 Article (Details)
• Moving Target Tracking in SAR Data Using Combined Exo- and Endo-Clutter Processing 
  Henke, Daniel; Dominguez, Elias Mendez; Small, David; et al. 
  IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING, 56 (1): 251-263 JAN 2018 Article (Details)

• Remote sensing of the plant pigment system
• Estimating net primary productivity using models of light interaction
• Radiative transfer modeling to map composition and chemistry of species at large scales
• Quantitatively assess the phylogenetic organization of plants from satellites
• Measurement of structural and biochemical traits and their response to global change
• Assess spatiotemporal changes of functional diversity of spatially dominant species

• Ecological genomics (linking genetic and pigment diversity)
• Phenomics
• Spectranomics
• Combination of light interactions with gas exchange models