About the project

DRYTIP is anchored in the ability of global Earth Observation (EO) data to provide essential information on terrestrial ecosystem properties and functions, and in the notion that coupled insights derived from field ecology, dynamic vegetation models and EO data are key to unlock new fundamental knowledge in relation to ecosystem resilience to climate extremes.

First, the project will advance robust quantification of changes in ecosystems via EO by (i) deriving enhanced proxies of ecosystem functioning and by (ii) developing models that account for complex (non-linear) ecosystem development.

Second, by coupling insights from EO technologies, dynamic vegetation models and field ecology, the project will generate decisive fundamental knowledge in relation to ecosystem stability to climate extremes and the ability for EO technologies to assess it. It will also quantity the boundaries of safe ecosystem functioning and will resolve the question of a common eco-climatic threshold of vegetation die-off.

Unprecedented at global scale, deriving such knowledge will be a major breakthrough for science and will strengthen the scientific foundation on inference of current and future global ecosystem vulnerability to climate change.