Michele Torresani
@micheletorresani.bsky.social
Vegetation, Forests, Biodiversity, Spatial ecology, Remote Sensing and climbing. Assistant professor at the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A6LNYOYAAAAJ&hl=it&oi=ao
War destroys lives, cities, and infrastructure, but also soils. Our new study shows that between 2023 and 2025 Gaza lost 65% of its cropland and grassland, while bare soil increased by 351%. Using only open-source satellite data, we reveal the hidden environmental costs of conflict.
I’m really happy about our last publication, not just cause I really like the topic (the role of GEDI for biodiversity🛰️🌲) but especially for the great team involved in the work!
Happy to share this new paper led by Vítězslav Moudrý. We show that spaceborne canopy height products 🌲🛰️still have clear limits and that in Europe ALS data should be used more, moving toward a European ALS-based canopy height model. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Great to see that the master’s thesis work of Victoria Mølbach Sforzini, was successfully developed and implemented by Irene Menegaldo during her PhD—and now published in @vegecoldiv.bsky.social Congratulations to both!!
Vegetation Ecology and Diversity@vegecoldiv.bsky.social · 8mo agoRead the new VED article addressing the tree line dynamics and forest densification in the European Alps through Landsat images and machine learning on a case study in the Senales/Schnals Valley ⛰️🌲🌳 ved.arphahub.com/article/1771...
New paper out! 🤘 Can we estimate forest biodiversity using spaceborne #EnMAP data? 🛰️ Turns out, yes — spectral heterogeneity from EnMAP can estimate tree species diversity in Alpine forests 🌲🌳🏔️ Especially in the NIR region, with area-weighted pixels and canopy cover > 70%. 🔓 lnkd.in/eWKGeGfs
🤩Proud to co-author a new paper led by Petra Pracná & Vítězslav Moudrý (CZU Prague): combining NASA’s ICESat-2 & GEDI LiDAR 🛰️data to build 90 m global DTMs 🌍—matching or surpassing Copernicus DEM accuracy in forests!🌲 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🚨 New research paper! 🌸🐝 UAV RGB + machine learning detect flowers as an indirect proxy for bee abundance—fast, scalable & eco-friendly! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#MAP-Rezia data collection is almost done! 🌺🌱 Thanks to @sonja, Angel & @gianmariabonari.bsky.social for completing botanical surveys between Stelvio & Swiss NP using the #ORCHAMP protocol. Now collecting remote sensing data✈️📡🛰️—will we detect the same biodiversity? Stay tuned for more…
Look who visited our biodiversity plots! 🦊These pics come from our camera traps in Switzerland, part of the ORCHAMP network we’re using in the MAP-Rezia project to monitor biodiversity between Stelvio and the Swiss National Park. Can we spot the same wild animals using Earth observation?🛰️Stay tuned!
Just 2 weeks after setting up plots & camera traps, we’ve got our first visitor! In #MAPRezia (Interreg Italia–Svizzera lnkd.in/eWv5FtPN) we map biodiversity in all forms—plants, trees, and wildlife—using field & remote sensing data. More to come this summer! 🌲🛰️
🌿 Field season has officially started for MAP-Rezia project! Great to finally meet all partners in the forest instead of just on screen! We kicked off our data collection, discussed next steps, and set the ground for linking what we see on the ground🌲 with remote sensing data🛰️
Have you ever thought outside the box and created fuzzy maps? 🗺️ Our study, led by Emilia Pafumi, shows how fuzzy classification offers a more realistic approach to habitat mapping using high-res satellite imagery🛰️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #biodiversity #remotesensing #ecology #mapping
Fuzzy approaches provide improved spatial detection of coastal dune EU habitats
Mapping habitats on coastal dunes, crucial yet highly vulnerable ecosystems, requires objectivity and repeatability, which are still lacking in the im…
sciencedirect.com
La guerra in #Ucraina ha un impatto drammatico anche sull’ambiente. @micheletorresani.bsky.social, ricercatore di #unibz, in collaborazione con #unibo, ha sviluppato un sistema di allerta precoce per stimare la perdita di superficie forestale. Leggi di più: www.unibzmagazine.it/en/magazine/...
L’AI in difesa delle foreste dell’Ucraina
Un sistema di allerta precoce basato sull’intelligenza artificiale rivela una massiccia perdita di foreste in Ucraina durante la guerra.
unibzmagazine.it
Just returned from the @esa.int #biospace25 conference hold in Frascati-Rome where I present my research on the link between different aspects of #biodiversity and vegetation height heterogeneity, assessed through remote sensing data 🌲 🛰️ If you missed my talk you can find it here: lnkd.in/eNxqeuMc
🌿 Kick-off for the #MAP-Rezia Project! 🌿 Excited to launch MAP-Rezia (~€1M, #InterregItaliaSvizzera) to monitor biodiversity in #ParcoNazionaledelloStelvio & #SchweizerischerNationalpark! We'll use remote sensing to map ecosystems, track herbivores & assess forest scenarios under climate change. 🚀🌍
iLand is the first forest landscape model to explicitly simulate forest microclimate. Why? Because microclimate effects propagate across scales and influence important processes such as decomposition, regeneration and bark beetle development. Read more in Braziunas et al. doi.org/10.1007/s109...
Microclimate temperature effects propagate across scales in forest ecosystems - Landscape Ecology
Context Forest canopies shape subcanopy environments, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Empirical forest microclimate studies are often restricted to local scales and short-term effects,...
doi.org
Not all fieldwork pictures are equally breathtaking... The pictures I got from master student Sarane reading out #microclimate sensor data from the cliffs of Freyr might just be what you needed to want to join MIREN's rock survey... the3dlab.org/2025/02/03/s...
Sensors with a view
Not all fieldwork pictures are equally breathtaking. While part of our team waded through the muddy mud of De Driehoek – one of our university campus’s last patches of nature – an…
the3dlab.org
Have you ever thought using #LiDAR from mobile, terrestrial, and spaceborne #GEDI combined with optical and radar satellite data #Copernicus, to characterize #forest structural complexity?🌲🛰️ We did! Check out this paper, led by Patrick Kacic www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Characterizing local forest structural complexity based on multi-platform and -sensor derived indicators
Global climate change, biodiversity decline, and increasing disturbances are challenging the health and resilience of forests. In this regard, forest …
sciencedirect.com
During the war in Ukraine, alongside the devastating loss of human lives, vast areas of forests have also been destroyed. In this new paper we estimated this forest loss using AI and remote sensing data🌲📡 #forest #war #Ukraine #remotesensing #Landsat www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Excited to share I’ve joined the Editorial Board of Community Ecology (Springer: link.springer.com/journal/42974)! 🌍📖 Looking forward to contributing to its mission and promoting impactful work, especially bridging ecological research with remote sensing technologies 🌲🛰️
Community Ecology
Community Ecology, established by the merger of two ecological periodicals, Coenoses and Abstracta Botanica was launched in an effort to create a common ...
link.springer.com
New paper! Forest disturbance through drought, windthrow, pest outbreaks and fire is increasing in Europe, driven by past planting decisions and climate change. In Germany alone, more than 500,000 ha of mostly Spruce died back in 2018-2022. Led by Anne Graser, we studied biodiversity responses...
I’m thinking of creating a new starter pack on "Remote sensing for forest biodiversity monitoring". I need at least seven others to join me—who’s interested?
📜More species, more trees: The role of tree packing in promoting forest productivity! The effect of diversity on forest functioning is partly mediated by diversity-driven changes in stand density. Published! Great work by @xaviermorin.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/1365...
More species, more trees: The role of tree packing in promoting forest productivity
The effect of tree species richness on maximum stand density in forest plots had been suspected before, but it had hardly ever been taken into account in biodiversity–ecosystem–functioning studies. H....
doi.org
Ready to learn how to use LiDAR for research in #forestry and natural resources using #R? This week I am sharing our 7-part series on Bluesky to help you get started! Share with anyone you know who wants to get started. Part 1 covers acquiring, & viewing LiDAR data! bit.ly/lidR-module1
Land-use change reduces bee diversity at local scales, but the impacts of agriculture and urbanisation differ at regional scales. Agriculture has more negative effects overall. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧪 🌏 🌐
Remotely sensed spectral indicators of bird taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity across Afrotropical urban and non-urban habitats | www.sciencedirect.co... | Ecological Indicators | #ornithology 🪶
Remotely sensed spectral indicators of bird taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity across Afrotropical urban and non-urban habitats
Urban areas are quickly expanding around the world, promoting deep changes in biodiversity. However, certain biogeographic realms, like the Afrotropic…
sciencedirect.com
Hi all, Happy New Year🍾 If you want to start 2025 learning about LiDAR technology and its practical applications in ecology using R, do not miss this course with @micheletorresani.bsky.social There is ONLY 1 seat left: www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
In our recent paper led by M. Ny Aina Rakotoarivony, we showed that combining hyperspectral data with fine-resolution multispectral data significantly improves our ability to map the spatial distribution of invasive plants #NASA_SBG #cube_sats #fusion. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Mapping the spatial distribution of species using airborne and spaceborne imaging spectroscopy: A case study of invasive plants
Predicting the spatial distribution of invasive plants remains challenging because of the complex relationships between plant invasion, abiotic, and b…
sciencedirect.com
How unique is branch arrangement—unique enough to be like fingerprints? 🧐 Yrttimaa et al. Quantifying architectural uniqueness of Scots pine trees using terrestrial laser scanning: toward individual tree fingerprinting. Forestry. #TLS #lidar #openaccess 🔗https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpae058
