At the Department of Geoecology, we deal with applications of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote sensing (RS) methods in vegetation ecology. Although formally established in June 2007, geoinformatic technologies have been employed at the Institute of Botany under the Department of Geobotany since 1998.
We have started a small project about monitoring forest microclimate in 2009, which grew into our current main focus and establishment of more than 1000 forest plots where we measure microclimate.
We focus on:
- Forest microclimate and its role in plant and forest dynamics
- Spatio-temporal changes in plant populations and communities and their spatial structure on different spatial scales using GIS, RS and spatially explicit models
- Detection of invasive species using remote sensing (including UAV)
- Plant spatial patterns and underlying biological processes
- Role of history in shaping temperate forests
Our research topics
- mapping both vegetation and particular species
- study of relationships between flora, vegetation and environmental factors
- analyses of spatial pattern and spatial relationships of studied objects
- analyses of spatio-temporal changes
- forest microclimate
- forest fires
- detection of invasive species using remote sensing
Besides our own research, we provide support for other research teams and projects of the institute. We have complete software for vector and raster data processing and analyses (ArcGIS with selected extensions; PCI Geomatica 2012 with Orthoengine module; eCognition Developer 9.2, ENVI, Agisoft Photoscan Professional), as well as equipment for precise position measurements (GeoExplorer 2008 XH with sub-meter accuracy, GeoExplorer GeoXH 6000 with decimeter accuracy and Trimble GeoExplorer Geo 7X with Centimeter accuracy; and field mapping tool FieldMap). We also have Spectral Evolution Full Range Portable Spectroradiometer RS-3500 for remote sensing purposes.
Departmental presentation from 2017 (PDF)
