Our group uses Earth observation and spatial analysis to understand the environment. Current projects The tropical FOrest Degradation EXperiment (FODEX) FODEX is a 5-year European Research Council (ERC) funded project with the aim of creating and testing methods of mapping tropical biomass change. We know the much more tropical forest is degraded each year than deforested - perhaps ten times as much. Degradation involves removing one or more trees from a forest, but after the disturbance sufficient trees remain for the land to still be classed as a 'forest'. It is hard to map this disturbance, but in this project, we are setting up experimental plots in Gabon and Peru to collect excellent data before and after selective logging. Our researchers will then use this new data to develop algorithms to map forest degradation across the tropics using satellite data, helping governments and others to ultimately reduce such degradation. Visit the FODEX website Further examples of collaborative research include: Long-range UAV LiDAR borne for data calibration for agriculture and forest monitoring services Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Carbon storage in Amazonian peatlands: distribution and dynamics Principal Investigator: Professor Edward Mitchard and (Co-Investigator) Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE 3D UAV data combined with Sentinel1 C-band backscatter to allow extrapolation using data assimilation techniques Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Cocoa: future yields across West Africa Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams; with (Co-investigator)The Roslin Institute, UK More information on this project award can be found on *ERE CSSP Brazil BZ2: evaluation of South American ecosystem processes Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Detection and Attribution of Regional greenhouse gas Emissions in the UK (DARE-UK) Principal Investigator: Dr Tom Arnold, Professor Paul Palmer (Co-investigator), and (Co-investigator) Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Diagnosis, data assimilation and decision-making systems for precision management of water and nitrogen in Southern China Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Carbon Storage in Amazonian peatlands: distribution and dynamics Principal Investigator: Professor Edward Mitchard, and (Co-investigator) Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Soils research to deliver greenhouse gas removals and abatement technologies Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams; with (Co-investigator) The Roslin Institute, UK More information on this project award can be found on *ERE A socio-ecological observatory for the Southern African woodlands Principal Investigator: Dr Casey Ryan, (Co-investigator) Dr Kyle Dexter, (Co-investigator) Dr Caroline Lehman, (Co-investigator) Professor Edward Mitchard, and (Co-investigator) Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Advanced technologies for efficient crop management: a participatory approach with application at farm scale Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams, and (Co-investigator) Dr Alisdair MacArthur More information on this project award can be found on *ERE A soil moisture and crop yield diagnostic system for sub-Saharan Africa Principal Investigator: Professor Mathew Williams More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Congo Peat: past, present and future of the peatlands of the central Congo Basin Principal Investigator: Professor Edward Mitchard More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Lightning: An invisible driver of tree mortality in the tropics? Principal Investigator: Professor Edward Mitchard More information on this project award can be found on *ERE Valuing intact tropical peatlands: an interdisciplinary challenge Principal Investigator: Professor Edward Mitchard More information can be found on this project award on *ERE Three-dimensional change detection of aboveground biomass Investigating team: NASA; with Dr Steven Hancock Mapping boreal forest biomass density for the ABoVE (Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment) domain circa 2020 with ICESat-2. Investigating team: NASA; with University of Maryland, USA; and Dr Steven Hancock Visit the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) website Soundscapes to landscapes (S2L): monitoring animal biodiversity from space using citizen scientists Investigating team: NASA; with Sonoma State University, USA; and Dr Steven Hancock Our researchers in Earth observation and spatial analysis are: Dr Tim Arnold Dr Murray Collins Dr Steven Hancock Professor Edward Mitchard Professor John Moncrieff Dr Caroline Nichol Professor Mathew Williams * Edinburgh Research Explorer (ERE) is the University's research information system and is managed by Library and University Collections. This article was published on 2024-07-01
