Felix Specker
TODO
Sessions
Understanding where and why forest restoration succeeds remains a key challenge for global monitoring and policy. This project investigates how satellite-based indicators of vegetation structure and function can capture restoration outcomes across spatial scales. We combine global remote sensing data with contextual information on climate, landscape configuration, and human pressure to identify drivers of restoration success and compare intervention strategies. The results aim to inform scalable, operational approaches for monitoring forest recovery and supporting evidence-based restoration efforts worldwide.
We present S2BIOPHYS, the first global dataset of annual vegetation biophysical properties (LAIe, FAPAR, FCOVER) at 20 m resolution from Sentinel-2 (2019–2025). The product combines radiative transfer model inversion with iterative hyperparameter optimization using in-situ calibration and validation data. It provides per-pixel estimates with uncertainty and observation counts, validated against over 11,000 ground measurements. S2BIOPHYS enables scalable monitoring of ecosystem condition, restoration, and biodiversity.