New EORC Project Launch: Assessing Ecosystem Sensitivity to Climate Change in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Protected Areas

New EORC Project Launch: Assessing Ecosystem Sensitivity to Climate Change in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Protected Areas

m

August 5, 2025

The Earth Observation Research Cluster (EORC) at the University of Würzburg is pleased to announce the launch of a new research project that addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: the impact of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

The project, titled “Assessment and Localization of Ecosystem Sensitivity to Climate Change in Protected Areas of Rhineland-Palatinate,” aims to identify and map areas within nature reserves that are particularly vulnerable to climate-induced changes. This initiative is funded by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for the Environment and is being carried out in close collaboration with the State Agency for the Environment.

Project Objectives

The core goals of the project include:

  • Developing a spatially explicit sensitivity index for ecosystems based on climate and vegetation data.
  • Identifying climate-sensitive zones within protected areas using Earth observation and geostatistical methods.
  • Providing actionable insights for conservation planning and climate adaptation strategies.

By integrating long-term satellite data, climate projections, and ecological indicators, the project will deliver high-resolution maps and tools to support evidence-based environmental management.

 

 

you may also like:

Bridging Scales: How Radar Satellites supports Crop Monitoring

Bridging Scales: How Radar Satellites supports Crop Monitoring

In an era of climate uncertainty and increasing pressure on agricultural systems, understanding how crops grow and respond to environmental stress is more important than ever. A new study led by researchers from Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, in close...

Upcoming PhD Defense by Ariane Droin

Upcoming PhD Defense by Ariane Droin

Ariane Droin will defend her PhD thesis "Permeabilität und Erreichbarkeit lokaler Nachbarschaften im urbanen Kontext. Eine geographische Analyse auf Basis räumlicher Netzwerke." on September 16th at 4 p.m. at the John-Skilton Straße 4a, Seminar Room 2/00.B.03.  ...

PhD Defense by Dorothee Stiller

PhD Defense by Dorothee Stiller

Dorothee Stiller will defend her PhD thesis "Potential of Remote Sensing Data and Methods for Urban Transport Research" on 15th of September at 4 p.m. at the John-Skilton Straße 4a, seminar Room 2/00.B.03. Everyone who is interested is cordially invited to join her...

Strengthening Collaboration with SANParks for Conservation Research

Strengthening Collaboration with SANParks for Conservation Research

Our long-standing collaboration with Dr. Corli Coetsee and Dr. Ben Wigley from SANParks is moving forward with promising new research activities. The joint work is focusing on mapping savanna features more accurately such as trees, paths, or animals through innovative...

Exploring Future Collaborations on Fire Research in African Savannas

Exploring Future Collaborations on Fire Research in African Savannas

During recent discussions, new opportunities for collaboration emerged between Navashni Govender, Senior Conservation Manager at SANParks in Kruger National Park, Prof. Katharina Breininger, head of the Pattern Recognition Lab in Informatics, and Dr. Mirjana Bevanda...

Understanding Urban Heat in Germany

Understanding Urban Heat in Germany

In a world where summers grow ever hotter, understanding and combating urban heat islands is becoming more urgent than ever. A recent study by our Prof. Hannes Taubenboeck sheds new light on this challenge—and at its helm is Dr. Tobias Leichtle, Dr. Thilo Erbertseder...