Upcoming Talk: Dr David Schimel - Wednesday September 25
Camila Vargas Poulsen
Dear Community,
We are excited to announce our upcoming Roundtable!
Dr. David Schimel, Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and member of the Biodiversity Data Science working group, will be presenting about:
A pan-tropical view of plant functional diversity from space
When: Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 12-1pm
Where: NCEAS Lounge (1021 Anacapa Street, 3rd floor)
Join us virtually by connecting to:
https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/468789779?pwd=aklaUWYrNkNHMDduY2xEWDFyWU03Zz09
Talk’s Abstract
The tropical rainforests are mapped and modeled as one biome, the Evergreen Broadleafed Forest, but in fact contain the majority of tree species found on earth, tens of thousands of species, and multiple ancient lineages compared to hundreds of tree species in the north. Limited data and spare and biased sampling means little is known about the functional diversity contained within rainforests, which may contribute to ecosystem function and resilience to climate change. We used a new satellite, PRISMA, launched by the Italian Space Agency in 2019, to develop a random sample of 30 km scenes across the tropics and retrieved two key growth-related parameters for each pixel, canopy nitrogen and leaf thickness. The analyses showed immense functional diversity within tropical forests and differences between Asia, the Amazon, and African forests. The results also showed continental-scale correlations between the two variables, consistent with a leading theory of plant adaptation, although specific scenes did not always show this predicted correlation. New satellite technology enables new modeling strategies that will allow better understanding and management of tropical forests.
About the Speaker
Dr. David Schimel is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Technical Group Supervisor for the Carbon and Ecosystems group. He serves as the Mission Scientist for NASA’s planned Surface Biology and Geology mission. His career has focused on the large-scale impacts of land management and climate change on ecosystem processes and the role of the global carbon cycle in the climate system. His expertise includes managing large, complex research projects, remote sensing, data management, modeling, and applying ecological research to science policy development.
Read more about Dr Schimel’s accomplishments in the attached flyer.