The Domain of Ecosystems Analyses manages a significant portion of CzechGlobe’s research infrastructure. It focuses on monitoring the content of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the atmosphere and their long-range transport. The domain gathers and analyzes information on carbon fluxes, sequestration, and storage both at the level of ecosystems as well as landscape on a continental scale. It contributes to major global databases. The aim is, among other things, to contribute to the understanding of both the sources and processes of carbon sequestration and storage in terrestrial ecosystems. Additionally, it examines the impact of climate change on specific types of ecosystems or small catchments.
The domain’s main objectives are as follow:
a) long-term monitoring of greenhouse gas fluxes and meteorological parameters, conversion of quantitative and dynamic data to country-wide scale, and model estimation of their future development; proposals for measures to enhance ecosystems’ abilities to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and to deposit carbon over the long term;
b) development of synchronization methods for aerial data imaging using passive imaging spectroscopy and active LiDAR scanning and their evaluation in order to obtain spectral–spatial characteristics of vegetation and ecosystems for generating maps of biochemical and biophysical parameters of vegetation as well as detecting stress in plants caused by various natural and anthropogenic factors; and
c) evaluation and modelling of changes in the hydrological cycle of forest catchment basins, biogeochemistry of nitrogen in the forest ecosystem, forms and export of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, and the amount of base cations in forest soils and waters as influenced by expected global climate and forest management changes; proposals for measures to reduce the negative impacts of global climate change on the hydrological and biogeochemical cycles of forest catchment basins;
d) assessment of the impact of global climate change mainly on the population dynamics of insect pests, their natural enemies as well as population dynamics of certain rare species; analysis of the significance of bio-corridors in facilitating species migration and their survival under global climate change; proposals for biodiversity conservation measures.
Head
Ing. Manuel Acosta, Ph.D
Tel.: +420 511 192 262
acosta.m@czechglobe.cz
Address
Bělidla 986/4a 60300 Brno
It includes the following:
Department of Matters and Energy Fluxes
Department of Remote Sensing
Department of Biogeochemical and Hydrological Cycles
Department of Atmospheric Matter Fluxes and Long-range Transport
