CREAF provides expertise in ecology and remote sensing for important tasks in the ALFAwetlands project.
About CREAF
CREAF (Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre) is a public research center based in Catalonia. CREAF is dedicated to terrestrial ecology, territorial analysis and global change. CREAF’s mission is to generate knowledge to understand nature, identify potential threats, and develop solutions to address environmental and climate challenges at local, national, and global level.
CREAF strives to contribute to knowledge on conservation and management of the environment and the territory. In addition to adaptation to environmental change at local, regional, and global scales, functioning as a bridge between academia, administrations, and society, and promoting awareness within its scope of activities.
CREAF’s team involved in ALFAwetlands project is composed of researchers that provide expertise and key technical skills in the project.
Prof. Josep Peñuelas is a highly-cited researcher internationally renowned for his contributions to the fields of ecology/environment, plant and animal biology, geosciences, and across all scientific fields.
Dr. Jordi Sardans is a senior researcher that focuses on biogeochemistry, the impacts of global change, stoichiometric ecology, ecometabolomics, and Big Data analysis in these fields.
Dr. Adrià Descals is a remote sensing specialist with experience in machine learning and large-scale computing of satellite data.
Dr. Romà Ogaya is a senior researcher that investigates climate change, mediterranean ecosystems, ecophysiology, and water relations.
The role of CREAF in ALFAwetlands project
CREAF provides expertise in ecology and remote sensing for key tasks in the ALFAwetlands project. CREAF’s involvement focuses on applying advanced ecological knowledge and cutting-edge remote sensing techniques that will enhance the understanding and management of wetland ecosystems within the project’s framework. Specifically, CREAF plays an important role in Work Packages 1 and 3; in Work Package 1, CREAF is involved in developing algorithms for mapping land cover across Living Labs using the high-spatial resolution of Sentinel-2, a satellite launch by the European Space Agency. In addition, CREAF is also involved in generating land cover change maps in the Living Labs for the last 30 years using satellite data from the Landsat mission. In Work Package 3, CREAF will develop and apply machine learning models to track changes in key environmental parameters observed in the Living Labs. These models will link the field measurements collected by the ALFAwetlands partners with spectral and thermal data observed from satellite remote sensing.
CREAF’s involvement will help advance the monitoring and management of wetland ecosystems by providing valuable spatial information within the ALFAwetlands project.
Figure: Land cover changes observed using satellite images (Landsat) in Peene river in Germany, one of ALFAwetlands’ Living Labs.
This post was prepared and photo provided by CREAF team – ALFAwetlands partner.