Integration of satellite and collateral data to model changes of forest ecosystem processes in Mediterranean area

Remote sensing techniques have shown a great utility to follow environmental changes over wide area, but are still ineffective in directly estimating vegetation properties such as transpiration and photosynthesis. The only operational method to estimate these important parameters on regional or sub-regional scales is therefore provided by the integration of conventional and remote sensing data through GIS techniques and ecosystem modeling. Among the models which simulate forest ecosystem functions, FOREST-BGC is probably the most suitable to apply over large land surfaces using GIS techniques and remote sensing inputs. While these applications have been tested in temperate areas of North America and Europe, this is less the case for Mediterranean environments, which are the subject of the RESMEDES/RESYSMED projects. The activities during the project have therefore been focused on development and testing of this integration approach in a test area in Tuscany (Central Italy. In particular the methodology applied consists of the following three steps: -Modification and calibration of FOREST- BGC to accept GIS and remote sensing inputs and work in the Mediterranean Areas. -Integration of satellite data with different spatial and temporal features to estimate forest NDVI with sufficient resolutions. -Application of the modified FOEST-BGC model to estimate intra and inter-year variations of forest transpiration and photosynthesis. After a brief introduction and description of the study area, these steps are presented in this report, together with the first results obtained and a discussion of the possible research and operational developments.