Assessment and Localization of Ecosystem Sensitivity to Climate Change in Protected Areas of Rhineland-Palatinate
Subject: Ecosystem sensitivity, protected areas, vulnerability and resilience, climate adaptation strategies, satellite-based remote sensing, cloud-based data processing, anomaly analysis
Study site: Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Funding: State Forests of Rhineland-Palatinate, Forestry Research Funding No. 5.4-01.2025
Duration: 01 July 2025 – 31 July 2026
Contact: Tobias Ullmann
Climate change is increasingly altering the ecological conditions of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly about temperature, precipitation, and extreme events. These changes directly affect the vitality, productivity, and stability of ecosystems. Protected areas, like refuges for biodiversity and providers of ecosystem services, are especially impacted. Despite their importance, comprehensive spatial data on ecosystem sensitivity to climatic variability is still lacking. However, precise spatial identification of sensitive areas is essential for effective climate adaptation measures in protected areas.
This project aims to assess ecosystem sensitivity to climatic variability in protected areas of Rhineland-Palatinate in a spatially differentiated manner. Using remote sensing data (MODIS, Sentinel) and climatological variables (CHELSA, TerraClimate, DWD), long-term time series will be analyzed to capture the response of various ecosystem types - particularly forests, grasslands, and aquatic systems - to changes in temperature, precipitation, and radiation.
A central component is the development of a digital classification method to derive sensitivity and vulnerability maps. An integrated vulnerability index will be calculated, combining sensitivity, exposure, and resilience. The results will serve as a basis for adaptive management of protected areas and the planning of climate adaptation measures.
The project includes the development of sensitivity metrics, modeling at different spatial scales (1 km and 30 m), and the creation of georeferenced map products. The resulting data and analyses are intended to be integrated into future monitoring strategies and biodiversity assessments.
The EO4CAM project runs from 01 July 2025 to 31 July 2026. It is led by the Earth Observation Research Cluster (EORC) at the Chair of Remote Sensing (Prof. Dr. Tobias Ullmann), Institute of Geography and Geology at JMU, and funded by the Forestry Research Program of the State Forests of Rhineland-Palatinate (Research Institute for Forest Ecology and Forestry, Rhineland-Palatinate Competence Center for Climate Change Impacts).
