Objective
Instantaneous ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of gross primary production (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET), is an important integral trait of plant and ecosystem productivity and a key variable for modelling and understanding the impact of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Unfortunately, the influence of climate change on ecosystem WUE is difficult to predict, because the underlying mechanisms that cause variation in ecosystem WUE are largely unknown. A major limitation so far in the research on ecosystem WUE is the current impossibility to measure WUE at sub-ecosystem (ie single tree or plant) level.
The aim of this research proposal is to generate ET, GPP and WUE maps of extremely high resolution of three Australian forest biomes. The remote sensing imagery needed for this will be acquired by applying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), equipped with thermal, visual and near infrared cameras. These maps will allow us to investigate how the ET, GPP and WUE of single plants and of entire ecosystems is affected by drought, and how species composition and vegetation structure affect this relation.
Two innovative new algorithms to estimate ET and GPP will be developed. These algorithms benefit from two key advantages that UAV-remote sensing offers, namely the unprecedented spatial resolution and the possibility to construct highly precise 3D maps of the canopy, thanks to the large image overlap. Measurements will be performed in three representative Australian forests, which will be monitored regularly during an entire year. Spatial and temporal analyses will be performed to assess the influence of stand structure and species contribution on GPP, ET and WUE and how these factors evolve in time, particularly during drought periods.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors optical sensors
- engineering and technology environmental engineering remote sensing
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics autonomous robots drones
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IOF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
9000 Gent
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.