Dr. Lars Eklundh Professor Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science Lund University Sölvegatan 12, 223 62  LUND, Sweden Tel.: +46.46.222 96 55 Fax: +46.46.222 03 21

Research

My main research interest is the use of data from satellites for collecting land surface information, primarily concerning vegetation. Much of the research has been carried out in Africa but I also work with boreal and sub-arctic environments in the Nordic countries. In Africa, I have been working with data from coarse-resolution satellite sensors like NOAA/AVHRR and Terra/MODIS in order to analyse their usefulness for global and regional environmental monitoring and mapping in different climatic regions. In Nordic environments, my current research interest is the utilisation of satellite sensor data for extraction of biophysical vegetation parameters, such as Leaf Area Index and Net Primary Production. I use data from sensors like Landsat ETM, SPOT MSI, Terra/MODIS etc. The research aims at generating methods which will be useful in the modelling of carbon fluxes over large areas. Canopy reflectance models and detailed field data are utilised in order to understand the satellite signal.

I have initiated a spectral sampling network for continuous field sampling of optical properties. This is an activity linked to the development of methods for extraction of phenological parameters from space data.

Our need for efficient data analysis has led to the development of methods for processing of time series of satellite sensor data (see the TIMESAT link below). These methods are useful for investigating vegetation seasonality and for studies of long-term and short-term vegetation changes. I currently coordinate a project to study the effects of variations in phenology on swedish forests and forest management in a future climate change perspective. Another research interest is the development of methods for early-warning of insect attacs in boreal forests, based on data from satellites, e.g. Terra/MODIS.

I am the joint leader of the Lund Earth Observation group. Please visit these pages for information about remote sensing and our projects.

Projects/activities

• Satellite phenology research project
• Research on remote sensing methodology for carbon balance estimation in Swedish environments.
• Monitoring of African drylands.
• Spectral measurements for calibration/validation
• TIMESAT - software for seasonality information and smoothing of remotely sensed data.
• Methods for estimation of forest disturbances using remotely sensed data.

Short summary presentation of research activities

Poster with some results from the carbon project (presented at the NECC-BACCI conference in Iceland 2008)

Teaching

I am involved in education at various GIS and remote sensing courses given by the department. I am the responsible teacher for one 15 ECTS course (NGEN08) and one 7.5 ECTS course (NGEN09/EXTN15) in digital remote sensing. I also act as supervisor for BSc, MSc and PhD students.

I have been interested in Geographical Information Systems for many years. Apart from my involvements in GIS courses and research at the department I have worked at the GIS unit of the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), and as a consultant. I have also participated in different projects in collaboration with the Lund University GIS centre. In 1999 I worked as an editor for a comprehensive Swedish educational GIS book "Geographical information processing - methods and practices"  (Geografisk informationsbehandling – metoder och tillämpningar, see My publications).

My publications

• Reviewed articles


• Books and book chapters


• Other

Various

Distribution page (password protected)

Dept. of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science home page