Key contacts
- Science Leader: Prof. Dr. Teja Kattenborn (University of Freiburg)
- Science Leader: Prof. Dr. Miguel Mahecha (University of Leipzig)
- Co-Science Leader: Prof. Dr. René Orth (University of Freiburg)
- Co-Science Leader: Prof. Dr. Ana bastos (University of Leipzig)
- Project Manager: Prof. Dr. Teja Kattenborn (University of Freiburg)
- ESA Technical Officer: Dr Sophie Hebden (ESA)
Project Prime
University of Freiburg
Project role: At the University of Freiburg, global functional diversity products are being generated by integrating multi-source Earth observation data with vegetation survey data (sPlot), citizen science observations, and plant trait information from the TRY database. These functional diversity metrics are linked with global tree mortality products to quantify relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and disturbance regimes. The resulting datasets are combined with large-scale biomass and carbon flux products to assess functional–biophysical interactions. Benchmarking against existing global disturbance and forest dynamics products is being carried out to ensure methodological robustness and cross-comparability.
Project Partner
Leipzig University
Project role: At the University of Leipzig, large-scale and spatially explicit tree mortality rate products are being developed from global Earth observation time series. Mortality patterns are being attributed to environmental dynamics, including climate variability, extreme events, and long-term ecological drivers. Modelling frameworks are being established to quantify the relative influence of these drivers on observed mortality. The resulting mortality information is being integrated with other ESA CCI, EBV and FORTRACK datasets to support comprehensive assessments of global forest change.