Research Statement

From leaves to the globe, vegetation exerts a fundamental role in almost all terrestrial biophysical processes, without which humanity could not function. From carbon accumulation to nutrient cycling and the seasonality in pigment expression, vegetation dynamics are intertwined in complex ways with climatic, floristic, zoological, microbial, edaphic and geomorphological processes, among others, all of which not only influence but are also influenced by human agency. The central tenet of my research is monitoring and modeling the spatio-temporal patterns of vegetation and understanding the processes shaping them with the help of data collected by remote sensors operating at multiple scales (from leaves to the entire globe), and with different temporal depths (from days to decades). This involves generating novel approaches that improve our ability to understand the causes and consequences of the changes in the land surface, together with their complex interrelations and feedbacks with both natural and human processes. 

Research Interests & Expertise