Ecosystems
The key aim of CEFO proposal is to develop methods and data products which will support the sustainable economic development of the key forestry sector in China, thereby alleviating poverty among this community. The CEFO project will apply and evaluate innovative remote sensing methods to improve sustainable forestry management for Chinese forests, in a close collaboration between Chinese forest researchers, stakeholders, and the UK research team. The research focuses on priority areas of application of remote sensing to change detection, yield and forest carbon sequestration, and improved detection of stress related to growth and forest health. It will develop the joint use and evaluation of Chinese and European satellites (Sentinel-2, Gaofen 1/2/6/7), the planned Chinese Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Monitoring Satellite and ESA BIOMASS mission. To achieve this, it will apply a set of spectroscopy, radiative transfer modelling and time series analysis methods to Chinese forests, recently developed within collaborative research projects with NASA, EU and MOST funding. In particular, the project will develop methods based on fundamental tree physiology that can be extended for the future monitoring of hazards affecting Chinese forests using remote sensing. It will also integrate remote sensing data for model and algorithm development to advance data visualisation and simulation techniques; to detect change using time series observations to inform policy, monitor vegetation condition, and provide growth model inputs to assess yield and to estimate carbon sequestration. The project will also contribute expertise and state-of-the art equipment towards capacity building for remote sensing field and lab analysis. Some funding sources include the joint project funded by the National Science Foundation of China (41871278) and China Gaofen Forest Application Project, Northern Research Station of UK and the Chinese Academy of Forestry. They will support the normal progressing of the Dragon 5 cooperation and the participating of the annual symposium. Some scholarships from ESA will be very helpful to have 1 or 2 graduate students focus on this project. We will try to apply some funding from the GFOI (Global Forest Observation Initiative) related activities.
