‘Working with a new generation of satellite missions is a tremendous opportunity’
Six Dutch universities and two research institutes will conduct large-scale vegetation research using satellite instruments over the coming years. They have been awarded almost €3.2 million in funding from NWO and NLSA. Professor Lammert Kooistra of Wageningen University & Research will lead the project, which will contribute to nature conservation in the Netherlands.
You are going to conduct large-scale research into vegetation. Why is this important?
‘There is a great deal of concern in our society about the quality of nature reserves and natural ecosystems. Healthy vegetation is extremely important, but it is coming under increasing pressure from climate change, nitrogen deposition and changing land use. The logical next questions are: what exactly is happening in these nature reserves? What interventions are nature managers implementing? And can we objectively measure the effects of those measures?’
Isn’t this being done at the moment?
‘A tremendous amount of data is being collected. Ecologists take measurements in the field, while large flux towers measure nitrogen and carbon fluxes. But these measurements are highly localised: they relate to one specific location. Occasionally, we can supplement them with data from an aircraft or drone measurement campaign, but these do not cover an entire nature reserve either. For truly large-scale research, you need Earth-observation satellites. They allow us to study issues such as nitrogen deposition, the effects of drying caused by climate change, and the impact of precipitation on forest health.’
Which satellites will play a role in the research?
‘We are using a new generation of hyperspectral satellites. They measure sunlight reflected by plants across different wavelengths. Initially, we will use data from the German EnMAP satellite and the Italian PRISMA satellite. Later this year, they will be joined by ESA’s scientific FLEX satellite, which will conduct global research into plant health by measuring fluorescence and photosynthesis. ESA will also launch the CHIME mission in 2028 and 2030. CHIME can do what FLEX does, but at ten times the resolution. For the first time, these hyperspectral satellites will make it possible to study vegetation in ecosystems on a European scale.’
How do you turn the satellites’ raw data into valuable data for scientific research?
‘That is one of the main questions we will be addressing. FLEX measures anomalies in vegetation photosynthesis. We want to know how these anomalies are distributed across different seasons and geographical areas. We also want to determine whether limitations in photosynthesis are caused by nitrogen deposition, drying or something else. We will work with nature managers from the very beginning of the project. The question is how we can use satellite data to evaluate their management measures and whether we can provide them with new tools in the future. We will use the complex ecosystem of the Veluwe as our test area. We will supplement satellite imagery with measurements from aircraft and drones, as well as data collected on the ground. This will teach us how to interpret the satellite data. When data from the CHIME mission becomes available from 2028 onwards, we will be ready.’
NWO and NLSA are investing almost €3.2 million in the ASCENT research project. Why is their support important?
‘More than three million euros means that we can appoint five postdoctoral researchers and five PhD candidates. These are young researchers who will be able to work on the project full-time. But the involvement goes beyond funding alone. Through its network, the Netherlands Space Agency can support this new generation of researchers and help the Dutch Earth-observation community develop further within a European context.’
Who will be carrying out this large-scale research with you?
‘Six universities and two research institutes are involved: the University of Twente, Wageningen University & Research, Utrecht University, Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Delft University of Technology, NIOO-KNAW and SRON. ASCENT offers an excellent opportunity for researchers from a wide range of disciplines to work together. They will collaborate over a six-year period using satellites that are due to be launched in the coming years. In 2027, we will begin fieldwork on the Veluwe so that we can immediately start collecting data to validate the FLEX satellite, which is scheduled for launch this autumn. We hope to present the first results by the end of next year. The opportunity to make a substantial contribution to missions such as FLEX and CHIME is tremendous.’
What are you personally most looking forward to over the coming years?
‘We can see clear differences in the health of coniferous forests on the Veluwe. These may be caused by soil acidification. I would find it extremely interesting if we could use FLEX to map the different forests spatially and relate the results to the field measurements carried out by ecologists. That would be a major step forward. I am also looking forward to the models we will develop during this research. Models provide a glimpse into the future. They can be used to evaluate management measures more effectively and to advise on actions that can help improve nature.’
‘GO’ for vegetation research
How can scientists from different disciplines use satellite instruments for vegetation research? That was the central question in the GO call for proposals issued by NWO and NLSA earlier this year. The winner of the call is a consortium comprising eight universities and research institutes: the University of Twente, Wageningen University & Research, Utrecht University, Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Delft University of Technology, NIOO-KNAW and SRON. Together, they developed the interdisciplinary ASCENT research project—Advancing hyperSpectral imaging for Cross-scale Ecosystem fuNctioning and vegeTation research—which will use advanced satellite technology to monitor changes in vegetation and investigate how ecosystems function.
