Research Bert Gielen

Abstract

The ability to evaluate EU's climate and sustainability targets is currently limited by challenges in monitoring ecosystem greenhouse gas (GHG) exchanges and other services in an accurate and timely manner. Important knowledge gaps concerning processes and drivers of GHG exchanges persist, that further hamper our predictive capabilities. The absence of coherent approaches to collect, interpret and integrate data on terrestrial GHG stocks and processes into predictive models limits the EU's ability to monitor ecosystem services and thus to reach its climate ambitions, including the Paris Agreement of Climate Convention and European Green Deal. NextGenCarbon aimsto develop a novel framework for advancing our understanding of the European GHG budget. To reach this goal, we will: 1) improve and enrich existing measurements on ecosystems; 2) assimilate these data into state-of-the-art modelling frameworks; 3) create seamless scenario prediction systems; and 4) provide guidance to policymakers on the magnitude, evolution of and future risks to GHG fluxes. Our exceptional multidisciplinary consortium links leading experts developing the next generation of ground and EO-driven observations, with several groups at the cutting edge of carbon cycle and land surface modelling, plus teams pushing the boundaries of data assimilation, complex system modelling, forest management and disturbance monitoring, land-use and GHG inventories, and communications. It also involves active engagement with diverse stakeholders, including landowners and managers, GHG exchange modelling community, international community related to environmental monitoring, climate policy support and GHG inventory experts, and policymakers. In doing so, NextGenCarbon will pave the way for high-accuracy and seamless estimates of national to continental and global GHG budgets from the recent past into the coming decades, making a vital contribution to EU's climate mitigation strategies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In this project we will design, develop and test a system to monitor phenology of terrestrial ecosystems through a specifically designed phenological camera and post-processing software platform using open science and FAIR data practices. Plant phenology can be defined as the seasonal progression of plant activity through stages of dormancy, active growth, senescence, and back to dormancy (Richardson et al. 2018). It is a key ecological parameter directly related to ecosystem processes and ecosystems-climate relations (Penuelas et al, 2009) and impacted by climate change and consequently linked to carbon and water cycles at ecosystem scale (Linderholm 2006). The importance of plant phenology as a key ecological parameter is also confirmed by its inclusion in the list of the Essential Biodiversity Variable

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a fully operational European Landmark research infrastructure providing standardised high-precision observations on greenhouse gases and their fluxes. The ICOS infrastructure is currently covering 16 countries with 170 stations. In this project, we will work with new users for ICOS data from satellite and modeling communities and prepare products for policymakers. We are improving sustainability of ICOS by streamlining the data pipelines and strengthening the community engagement including new members. In addition to data, ICOS is producing protocols and processes, which are now needed for the global greenhouse gases (GHG) initiative coordinated by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), thus strengthening the European leadership in it. NUBICOS will focus on four specific objectives: 1. The cooperation between ICOS and the remote sensing community will be deepened. 2. The value chain from observations to climate services will be improved. 3. The internal engagement of ICOS and the identity of the ICOS community will be strengthened. 4. The global cooperation of ICOS, particularly in the WMO framework, will be intensified.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert
• Co-promoter: Janssens Ivan

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Towards a greenhouse gas emission monitoring and VERification system for BElgium (VERBE) aims to address the need to develop an independent, top-down, temporally and spatially explicit greenhouse gas (GHG) emission monitoring and verification support (MVS) capacity for Belgium in support of government policies. The national MVS will also contribute to the European MVS capacity that is called for in the context of the global stocktake process of the Paris Agreement, the European Union (EU) strategy to reduce GHG emissions, and the Belgian signature of the methane pledge to cut emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The European Green Deal relies on healthy forests to remove carbon (C) from the atmosphere, stabilize the water cycle and provide sufficient biomass for the future bioeconomy. The Flanders Forest Living lab realizes a specific breakthrough in the assessment of these crucial ecosystem functions, at spatial scales ranging from the individual tree to the entire forest. The Living Lab is situated in an ICOS flux-tower observatory, that currently already provides a permanent assessment of ecosystem scale CO2-fluxes, evapotranspiration and respiration. To date however, no technique is available to study the function of individual trees, at daily resolution, across a forest. achieving this is the groundbreaking objective of this new infrastructure. Its specific equipment allows for crucial realistic simulation of the water-, energy- and carbon fluxes by advanced vegetation models at spatial scales matching those of satellite imagery products, thereby creating new possibilities for applications such as automated precision forestry management, fire prevention and worldwide carbon budget quantifications. The new infrastructure involves an UAV and a set of linked validation sensors. Observations are steered by artificial intelligence, in order to be able to adapt the flight pattern to the fluctuating source area of the flux-tower, and in order to proactively adapt to specific weather patterns and potentially interesting ground-sensor observations.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Janssens Ivan
• Co-promoter: Campioli Matteo
• Co-promoter: Gielen Bert
• Co-promoter: Latré Steven
• Co-promoter: Nijs Ivan
• Co-promoter: Roland Marilyn
• Co-promoter: Scheunders Paul
• Co-promoter: Vicca Sara

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The "Pilot Application in Urban Landscapes - Towards integrated city observatories for greenhouse gases" (PAUL) project supports the European Green Deal by creating capabilities to observe and verify greenhouse gas emissions from densely populated urban areas across Europe. Cities are recognized as important anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission hotspots and therefore play a significant role in any emission reduction efforts. The PAUL project aims to increase our understanding of specific needs of greenhouse gas emission assessment in urban environments; it compares available and novel observational approaches and implements an integrated concept for a city observatory, providing unique data sets that feed diverse modelling approaches, scientific studies and will be the base of services towards the city administrations. A specifically innovative approach is the co-design of services, models and observations between city administrators and scientists from multiple disciplines including social and governmental sciences.The PAUL co-design approach will explore the needs of the cities and combine these with the scientific outcomes. This allows to introduce smart services to the cities, supporting evidence-based decisions on climate action and strategic investments. Overarching goals of PAUL are to: 1) implement elements of a pilot city observatory in a large (Paris), a medium (Munich) and a small (Zurich) European city, 2) collaborate with city stakeholders and engage citizens in co-designing services that are required for GHG monitoring in order to validate the implementation of Paris Agreement, and 3) increase our understanding of specific needs of GHG assessment in urban environments and create a service portfolio for setting up an urban greenhouse gas observatory.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert
• Co-promoter: Janssens Ivan

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The objective of the Copernicus Cal/Val Solution (CCVS) is to define a holistic solution for all Copernicus Sentinel missions (either operational or planned) to overcome current limitations of Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) activities. Operational Cal/Val is required to ensure the quality of and build confidence in Copernicus data. However, these activities are currently limited by the following considerations: • The requirements and objectives need to be revisited to consider new usage of Copernicus products, inter-operability requirements, and to anticipate the needs of future Copernicus missions • Current Cal/Val activities are constrained by programmatic and budgetary requirements and do not necessarily follow scientific priorities • Cal/Val activities depend on the operational availability of high-quality Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) which are today mostly provided by external entities without strong commitment to the Copernicus program • Synergies within Copernicus and with other national and international programs are not systematically explored. To address these limitations CCVS will propose: • An updated specification of Cal/Val requirements for the Sentinel missions, taking into account inter-operability needs • An overview of existing Calibration and Validation sources and means • A gap analysis identifying missing elements and required developments in terms of technologies and instrumentation, Cal/Val methods, instrumented sites and dissemination service. • A comprehensive Copernicus Cal/Val Solution to organize the long-term provision of FRM for Sentinel missions • A roadmap documenting how the Cal/Val Solution can be implemented, highlighting responsibility, cost and schedule aspects. This plan will be elaborated in concertation with all stakeholders through four Working Groups gathering European Space Agencies, Copernicus Services, measurements and International partners.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert
• Co-promoter: Janssens Ivan

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Readiness of ICOS for Necessities of integrated Global Observations (RINGO) is a H2020 EU project that serves to further developed and support the ICOS research infrastructure. Within this project the University of Antwerp has a task that aims to investigate the ability to apply terrestrial light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurements to estimate above ground biomass at forest ecosystems. Aboveground biomass is crucial component of the carbon balance of forest ecosystems however it is very difficult to accurately estimate. LiDAR is a new and promising technique that offers the possibility to obtain highly accurate estimates of tree volumes. Within this project we will select several test sites in Belgium with different tree species which will be scanned and at each site several trees will be destructively harvested to validate estimated volume. In a second stage several ICOS sites in Belgium and neighbouring countries will be visited to perform LiDAR scans in order to estimate Aboveground biomass accurately. The outcome of this project will be a protocol to perform LiDAR measurements at the ICOS ecosystem station.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gielen Bert
• Co-promoter: Janssens Ivan

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Janssens Ivan
• Fellow: Gielen Bert

Research team(s)

• Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change

Project type(s)

• Research Project