Researching forests – on the ground and from space

Text: Esther Sambale

When Cornelius Senf stands amongst the larch and Swiss pine trees in the forest of Berchtesgaden National Park, he has a clear picture of everything going on around him. “We use a laser scanner to create detailed 3D models of the forest,” explains the professor of earth observation at the Technical University of Munich’s School of Life Sciences. Meanwhile, satellite sensors in space, located at an altitude of more than 800 kilometres, take images in the near-infrared range which show where vegetation is healthy and where it is dying. “We combine these different components in order to understand how forests are changing,” says Senf. He explains one of the great strengths of his research: “We monitor forests all over Europe by accessing ­images and data that in some cases come from 1960s spy satellites or 1980s earth observation satellites. This allows us to compare how all forests have developed over the course of many decades.”

Looking back, even Senf himself is surprised by the way his scientific career led him to Europe’s ­forests. “As a child or teenager I normally only went to the forest to go mountain biking. I was very ­interested in computers and photography, how­ever. ­Ultimately, that’s exactly what I’ve ended up doing today – it’s just that the images have ­become a bit more complex.”

After doing a PhD in geography, Senf wanted for his postdoc phase to find a research group “that was doing something quite different to me and whose work I could complement with my particular skills”. In 2016 he went to the Institute of Silviculture at ­BOKU University in Vienna on a scholarship under the DAAD’s funding programme Postdoctoral Researchers Inter­national Mobility Experience (PRIME). “If it hadn’t been for my time there and the inspiring collaboration with the forest scientist Rupert Seidl, I wouldn’t have found my current research field and would not be a professor today,” says Senf. Together, they analysed the development of tree mortality in European forests between 1984 and 2016. “We were the first in Europe to prove statistically that forest dieback, as it is known, is on the increase and that climate change and changes to land usage are the probable causes.”

His findings are used for example in biodiver­sity research and when planning protected areas. Senf also works with the European Commission, which wants to use his data to monitor Europe’s forests. “To improve a situation, one first has to under­stand exactly what is happening,” believes Senf. “To this end, we provide robust figures and data that others can use to make the forest eco­system more resilient.” —

Learn more in the DAAD’s series of “Science in a Nutshell” videos.