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ECOPOTENTIAL:ImprovingFutureEcosystemBenefitsthroughEarthObservations

Newsletternumber4–ECOPOTENTIALProject–December2016

DearReaders,ThisisthefourthreleaseoftheECOPOTENTIALnewsletter.Thisissuecomesjustinthemiddleofthefirst periodic reporting of the project and it’s time for a first balance. After one and a half year ofprojectactivities,wemaysaythatalltheforeseenactionsarenowongoingandwesetthestageforthesecondpartoftheproject.ThecollectionofbothRemoteSensingandInSitudataisprogressing,andresearchresultsarebeingdelivered, togetherwith the firstpublicationson journals.After thisfirst “incubation” period,manymore results and publications are expected in the forthcoming twoyears.Moreover,weputthebasisforastrongnetworkingandcommunicationstrategy:wehadmorethan 50 presentations of scientific results at international events, and more than 20 generalpresentationsoftheproject.TheGEO-ECOinitiativehasbeenlaunchedandpresentedatmajoreventsastheXIIIGEOPlenarymeetingandthefirstILTERConference.Storylinesarenowintheirmaturity,EssentialVariablesarebeingidentifiedandmeasured,andaremote-sensing-basedviewofProtectedAreasisbeingbuilt.Wehadseveralinternalmeetingsandworkshops,andothersareplannedforthenextmonths,alsoinconjunctionwiththetwinH2020projectSWOS.Anotherimportanteventforthenextmonthswillbethemeeting–workshopwithProtectedAreasmanagersandtechnicalstaffwhichwilltakeplaceinPisa,Italy,inMay2017.Thismeetingwillrepresentanimportantmilestoneforourproject,asitwillbetheoccasionforsharingourviewsabouttheuseofEarthObservationdataforthebenefitofscientificresearchonprotectedareasandforcreatingaCommunityofPractice.Thisevent,togetherwiththelaunchoftheVirtualLaboratoryPlatform,willbetheturningpointforputtingourresearchoutputattheserviceofabroadcommunityofusers.Ecopotentialisalivelycommunityandthisisreflectedinthisissueofthenewsletter.Weallhopethatyouwillenjoyitandcomebacktouswithyourfeedbacksandcomments!

AntonelloProvenzale,NationalResearchCouncilofItaly,CoordinatorofECOPOTENTIAL

GranParadisoNationalPark–NoaschettaValley,Italy,duringthesummermeasuringcampaignofCO2fluxesfromgrasslands,July2016

Ecopotential:ImprovingFutureEcosystemBenefitsthroughEarthObservation

Issuenumber4–December2016 Page2

DiscoveraProtectedArea:KrugerNationalParkAbelRamoelo,MosesA.Cho,RenaudMathieu-EarthObservationResearchGroup,CouncilForScientificandIndustrialResearch(CSIR),Pretoria,SouthAfrica

TheKrugerNationalPark(KNP)andsurroundingareasisasemi-aridecosystemsupportinghighlevelsofbiodiversityandalsobenefitsfromecotourismthatcontributesubstantiallytotheSouthAfricaneconomy.In addition, areas surrounding KNP are occupied by rural communities who solely rely on naturalresources for their daily sustenance or livelihoods – including food and energy security. The location ofKNPiswellplacedinthesavannahecosystems:opencanopyforests(about50%orlesstreecover)madeof heterogeneous layers of grass and woody plants. As the largest biomes in sub-Saharan Africa, theseecosystemshostalargeproportionoftheAfricanpopulation,generallythepoorestcommunitieswhorelyextensivelyonecosystemservices,e.g.fuelwood,timber,grazingresourcesandediblefruits.The woody component or tree cover plays a key role in ecosystem functioning, impacting on the firedanger, rates of transpiration and biomass production, nutrient cycling, soil erosion, and waterdistribution, and more widely on food and energy security. Bush encroachment impacts negatively onavailablegrassresourceforherbivores includingwildlifeand livestock.Ontheotherhand,about90%ofrural community relies on fuelwood as their main source of energy and livestock production as theirmainstayforlivelihood.Grazingandbrowsingresourcessupportingwildfaunaandlivestockproductionarethemainprovisioningecosystem services and ecotourism is the main cultural ecosystem service provided by the KNP andadjacent communal areas. These provisioning services are crucial to sustaining ecotourism and rurallivelihoodsintheregion.However,grazingandbrowsingresourcesarethreatenedbyphenomenasuchasbushencroachment,overgrazing,elephantimpactsandpoachingoflargemammals.TheKNPhaswitnessedhighlevelsofrhinopoachinginrecentyears.Bushencroachmentisaffectingtheavailability and quality of forage for wildlife and livestock and overgrazing in the communal lands hasresultedintohighlylevelsofdepletionofgrazingresourcesintermsofquantity(asmeasuredbybiomass)and quality (leaf nitrogen concentrations). The latter factors influence the occurrence and populationdynamicsofanimalsataparticularpointintime.Atthesametimemegaherbivoressuchaselephantsdohaveanimpactonareductionoflargetreeswhichareimportantforthepreservationofsomespecies(e.g.birdspecies).The underlying factors influencing the savannah landscape and the vegetation productivity are edaphic(soil and topography), climatic (precipitation and temperature) and anthropogenic (e.g. fire, grazing,fuelwood collection) and biotic factors (e.g. elephant activities). The savannah ecosystem is regarded asone of the heterogeneous ecosystems – patchiness of grass nutrients, tree species driven by geologicaltypesandclimaticvariables.Thequalityandquantityofgrazingandbrowsingresourcesarethereforekeyindicatorstomonitorinthesavannahsystemtoensuretheirsustainability.

SabieriveratSkukuza,KrugerNationalPark,SouthAfrica



Ecopotential Storyline: Savannah dynamics at KrugerNationalParkAbelRamoelo(1),Contributors:MosesA.Cho(1),RenaudMathieu(1),AntonelloProvenzale(2)(1)EarthObservationResearchGroup,CouncilForScientificandIndustrialResearch(CSIR),Pretoria,SouthAfrica;(2)InstituteofGeoscienceandEarthResources,NationalResearchCouncil,Pisa,Italy

TheKrugerNationalPark(KNP)andsurroundingareasisasemi-aridecosystemsupportinghighlevelsofbiodiversityandalsobenefitsfromecotourismthatcontributesubstantiallytotheSouthAfricaneconomy.As the largest biomes in sub-Saharan Africa, these ecosystems host a large proportion of the Africanpopulation, generally the poorest communities, who rely extensively for their daily sustenance orlivelihoodsonecosystemservices,e.g.fuelwood,timber,grazingresourcesandediblefruits.The woody component or tree cover plays a key role in ecosystem functioning, impacting on the firedanger, rates of transpiration and biomass production, nutrient cycling, soil erosion, and waterdistribution, and more widely on food and energy security. Bush encroachment impacts negatively onavailablegrassresourceforherbivores includingwildlifeand livestock.Ontheotherhand,about90%ofrural community relies on fuel wood as their main source of energy and livestock production as theirmainstayforlivelihood.Grazingandbrowsingresourcessupportingwildfaunaandlivestockproductionarethemainprovisioningecosystem services. These provisioning services are crucial to sustaining ecotourism,which is themainculturalecosystemservice,andrural livelihoodsintheregion.However,grazingandbrowsingresourcesarethreatenedbyphenomenasuchasbushencroachment,overgrazing,elephantimpactsandpoachingoflargemammals.Themainresearchquestionistoinvestigatethedynamicsofthesavannahecosystemsandtheirimpactonkey ecosystem services in KNP. The proposed approach relies on various remote sensing technologiesdepending on vegetation type. For the grass layer for grazing animals, herbaceous biomass (availablegrazing resources) and quality (leaf nitrogen) are assessed using high spatial resolution images such asSentinel–2andWorldView-3,withstrategicallyplacedred-edgebandforassessingvegetationhealth.Forthetreelayer,woodybiomassandtreecoverwillbeassessedusingacombinationofstateofartSyntheticApertureRadar(SAR)andLiDARtechnology.Theestimatedvegetationparameterswillbefurtherusedformodelling ecosystem dynamics and carbon and water fluxes through the soil-vegetation-atmospheresystem in different geological frameworks, as well as to assess, through modelling, the response ofsavannahecosystemstochangesinclimateand/orinthefireandgrazingregimes.



NewsandEventsinECOPOTENTIALWhat’sEcopotentialabout?Discoveritfastandeasywithourvideo!

Let'sbehonest,scientificresearchprojectscansometimesbe difficult to understand and explain to those aroundyou.Forthisreason, theECOPOTENTIALCommunicationTeamis proud and excited to launch a new videoexplaining the project with a simple but effectiveanimation:http://ecopotential-project.eu/outreach/videoThis handcrafted video tells a story involving Peter, aprotected area manager, and Amy, an ECOPOTENTIALscientist.Thevideowilltakeyouonajourneythroughthedifferent ecosystems targeted by ECOPOTENTIAL,explaining why and how Earth Observation is used tomeasure and monitor ecosystems and the services they

provide,andhowtheprojectwillultimatelybenefitsociety.Sharethevideoinyourcommunity,postitand“likeit”onalsoonYouTube,FacebookandTwitter:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dytt5vmsIbwhttps://www.facebook.com/EcoPotentialProject/posts/1433355686679036https://twitter.com/ECOPOTENTIALprj/status/797022169335263232

ECOPOTENTIALScientificPublicationsandPresentationsSince the beginning of the project, our scientists areworking for presenting andpublishing the results of their research. In the first 18 months, Ecopotentialresearch results have been presented more than 50 times at conferences,workshops and other scientific meetings, while the project has been presentedmore than 20 times, included highly relevant international events as AGU (SanFrancisco,US),EGU(Vienna,Austria),GEOPlenarymeetings,EuropeanEcosystem

Services,ESAandILTER(KrugerNationalPark,SouthAfrica)conferences.Uptonow,10publicationsoninternationalopenjournalshavebeenpublishedandmorewillbecomingsoon.Takealookanddownloadthe publications also from our website: http://www.ecopotential-project.eu/2015-08-19-15-19-29/publications

AnewbookaboutGlobalChangeImpactsinSierraNevadaA new book from our #protectedareas, Sierra Nevada(Spain),entitled:"Global Change Impacts in Sierra Nevada: Challenges forconservation" #conservation #globalchange has beenpublished.SierraNevada Global ChangeObservatory is a long termmonitoringprogramtoassesstheeffectsofglobalchangein Sierra Nevada, a high mountain region located insouthern Spain. Since 2007 this project has beencollecting information to identify the impacts of globalchangeonsociecosystemsofthismountainregion.

After 8 years from the implementation of this project, a publication with monitoring results has beenpublished (http://sl.ugr.es/results_obsnev_en). A total of 40 contributions show the results of differentthematic areas clustered in 10 chapters. In this book have participated 69 authors from11 institutions.This publication is a revised version of a Spanish edition published some months ago (available here:http://sl.ugr.es/results_obsnev).Zamora,R.,Pérez-Luque,A.J.,Bonet,F.J.,Barea-Azcón, J.M.andAspizua,R. (editors).2016.GlobalChangeImpacts in SierraNevada: Challenges for Conservation. Consejería deMedioAmbiente yOrdenación delTerritorio. Junta de Andalucía. 208 pp. I.S.B.N.: 978-84-338-5960-0. Availableathttp://sl.ugr.es/results_obsnev_en



ECOPOTENTIALresearchattheSCERINworkshopinSlovakia18-22July2016,Zvolen,Slovakia

On18-22ofJuly2016over40participants(academicsandresearchers)from13countries - Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland,Romania,Slovakia,TheNetherlands,Turkey,Ukraine,USA-metintheframeworkofSCERIN(SouthCentralandEasternEuropeanRegional InformationNetwork)CapacityBuildingWorkshop(CBW)inthecityofZvolen,Slovakia.Theeventwasof high relevance for ECOPOTENTIAL, because regional land cover land usechange (LCLUC) priorities, and ongoing scientific efforts and data requirementswerediscussed.TheCBWthematicfocuswasonthecurrentLCLUCchallengesintheSCERINregionconnectedwithclimatechangeandanthropogenicinfluenceon

ecosystems,addressingtheirsignificanceandinfluenceonthesocialprocessesandecosystemfunctioning.Thediscussions includedecosystemdynamics,basedonLandsatandSentinelarchives,andforesthealthand insect infestation detection and monitoring - both topics of increasing regional importance in thecontextofclimatechange.ECOPOTENTIALwaspresentedbyIoannisManakosfromCERTH,partneroftheProject,anditsapproachandobjectivesfortheregionwasdiscussed.Moreat:http://www.csebr.cz/scerin2016/index.html

EuropeanEcosystemServicesConference19-23September2016,Antwerp,BelgiumThe2016ESPEcosystemServices(ESs)EuropeanUnionConference(http://www.esconference2016.eu/)

was held on the 19th-23rd ofSeptember in AntwerpBelgium. The conferencefeatured presentations anddiscussions spanning a wideberth of Ecosystem Servicesapplications, from conceptual

frameworks to case study investigations. Therewere representatives from industrywho exhibited theirdevelopments in building with nature and academics with carefully crafted schema for exploringecosystemfunctioning.Presentationsanddiscussionspointedout that there isnotyetacomprehensivemethodologyuniformlyaccepted by those working in the field. Some researchers oppose economic evaluations using suchframeworksasTheEconomicsofEcosystemsandBiodiversity (TEEB), amongothers,due towhat someclaimtobeadisproportionatelyhighanthropocentric focusandbias towardsprovisioningservices.Thisspurred discussion on the ability of a project such asECOPOTENTIALtoengagewithlocalstakeholderslivinginandaroundProtectedAreas,aswellaswithPAmanagers.The meeting saw several members of ECOPOTENTIALpresenting theirwork, and the groupas awhole alsohad thepleasureofsharinganexhibitionstandwiththeSatellite-basedWetland Observation Service H2020 project (SWOS;http://swos-service.eu/). Many of the attendees who visitedthe standwere interested inhowECOPOTENTIAL isplanningon evaluatingEcosystemServices,whether itwould be basedonafinancialassessment,evaluationofthetotalcapacityofthesystemtodeliverallservices,orbyamoreholisticapproach.Inthespiritof connectingwithstakeholders,anECOPOTENTIALmember, Alberto Bassett from the University of Salento,launched a pilot game geared towards young students duringtheconference.



SharedEcopotential-SwosstandattheESP-ESSconference20thSeptember2016,Antwerp,Belgium

At the last European conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership, a networking day (20th ofSeptember) was organized with 40 stands from the community, where businesses, practitioners,policymakersandresearchersmetandshowcasedtheirwork.Inthisoccasion,partnersofECOPOTENTIALandSWOSworkedtogethertoorganizeastandattheinformationmarketoftheconference.The SWOS project got funded under the same H2020 call of ECOPOTENTIAL. Both projects strive toimprove and facilitate the use of the new remote sensing data for the protection and management ofprotectedareas,withtheSWOSprojectfocusingonlyonwetlands.The shared Ecopotential-Swos stand was nicely situated just opposite the stand of the Europeancommission.Therewasa lotof interest inremotesensingderived indicatorstohelp informingdecisionsmakersandmanagementofprotectedareas,manyflyerswerehandedandpicturesofourprotectedareaswere visible in a looped video. Many of the attendees who visited the stand were interested in howECOPOTENTIAL is planningon evaluatingEcosystemServices,whether itwouldbebasedon a financialassessment, evaluation of the total capacity of the system to deliver all services, or by a more holisticapproach.Someof themost frequent inquiriesrelatedtothetypeofRemoteSensing(RS)algorithmsandproductswhich are being utilized within ECOPOTENTIAL. Aiming to contribute to COPERNICUS core services,ECOPOTENTIAL willshare an array of finalproducts and processingtechniques applied toRemoteSensingdataviaan open access portal.Our sister project SWOShas already deployed asuiteof22toolsaidinginthemappingofwetlands(GEOclassifier). WithinECOPOTENTIAL, thereare several workinggroups looking toconnect similar tools toremote sensing andmodelling applicationsin a desire to have aclearly delineatedconnective pathwaybetween data sourcesand ESs evaluationmethodologies.



51st European Marine Biology Symposium: ECOPOTENTIAL presentation onthe roleofecosystems functionsandservicesas requirements forProtectedAreas26–30September2016,Rhodes,Greece

At the51st EuropeanMarineBiology Symposium,held from26to30SeptemberinRhodes,Greece,HermanHummelandhis colleagues illustrated the aims and role ofECOPOTENTIAL in a presentation entitled “The role ofecosystem functions and ecosystem services among therequirementsforprotectedareas”.In the presentation they showed the different views ofscientistversusmanagersofprotectedareas(PAs)regardingthe importance of various ecological, environmental, andsocio-economic indicators for ecosystem functions,ecosystem services and drivers of change. The

ECOPOTENTIAL PAs considered in this study were the coastal areas of the Wadden Sea, Dutch Delta,Curonian lagoon, andCamargue and themountainous areas of GranParadiso, Kalkalpen, SierraNevada,Peneda-GerêsandSamaria.Theyshowedthat,amongscientists, in thecoastalareas theabioticenvironmental factors(includinge.g.habitat heterogeneity and substrate type) were indicated as the most important requirements for(ecosystem functions and services in) Marine Pas, whereas, for the mountainous domain biotic factors(includingprimaryproduction,biodiversityandfoodprovision)weredeemedthemostimportant.Inbothdomains,socio-economicandcultural factorswere indicatedbyscientistsas less important.Thisviewofthe scientistswas at oddswith the viewofmanagers of Pas,who indicated that socio-economic factors,includingpolicyandpoliticsareimportantfactorstotakeintoaccountfortheinstallationofPAs.Mainconclusionisthat,injointcooperationbetweenscientistsandmanagers,socialandeconomicfactorsneed to bemore emphasized and integratedwith the abiotic and biotic factors in order to qualify andinstall PAs. Taking into account the social and economic needs of ecosystem services beneficiaries, thisstudywillhelpsupportingtheassessmentoffactors,includingecosystemservicesandfunctions,whichcansetoraltermanagementstrategiesandpolicyoptionsforcurrentandnovelProtectedAreas.TheEMBSisauniqueconferenceserieswithahistoryofalreadyover50years,yetstillinfullswing.Itisknownfor its informalatmosphere,moderatesizeof theaudience(around200to250participants),andproper attention to all presentations (noparallel sessions), all promotingpersonal contacts to exchangeideas and experiences in vivid discussions and scientific debate. Moreover, the EMBS is known for itstraditionalannualgamesofthe“YellowSubmarinecompetition”,inwhichyoucanwintheultimatetrophy,theEMBSYellowSubmarine.MoreinformationontheEMBScanbefoundinHummel,Frost&Hummel,2015:Celebrating50yearsoftheEuropeanMarineBiologySymposium.TheMarineBiologist4:26-27.LinktotheEMBS51website:http://www.embs51.org/



FutureclimateprojectionsforPAs:ClimateDownscaling26-27September2016,Pisa,ItalyThegeneralstrategyforfutureclimateprojectionsinECOPOTENTIALProtectedAreaswasdiscussedanddecidedduringtheWorkshoponFutureProjectionsheldinPisa,Italy,onSeptember26–272016.Morethan20researchersattendedthemeeting,representingtenprotectedareaswithintheproject:Hardangervidda,Camargue, Curonian Lagoon, Gran Paradiso, Kruger, La Palma, Lake Orhid, Negev, Sierra Nevada andWadden Sea. Researchers illustrated their needs in terms of future climate data needed as inputs formodellingandunderstandingchangesinecosystemsandecosystemservicesinthePAsanddiscussedthebeststrategytoadopttogetherwithexpertpartnersinclimatemodelling(CNR).

Thestrategythatwillbeadoptedincludestheuseofspecificdownscalingmethodsforclimatevariables,inparticular precipitation and air temperature, to be applied to coarser resolution data, such as thoseproduced by regional climate models, in order to generate high resolution climatic inputs for the eco-hydrologicalmodelsappliedinthedifferentPAs.

Forbothairtemperatureandprecipitation,thedownscalingtoolsthatarebeingemployedtogeneratethefinescaleclimaticfieldstakeintoaccounttheorography.Thisisanecessaryrequirementforadownscalingmethodifithastobeappliedincomplexareas,suchasmountainousorcoastalareas.Forprecipitation,astochasticdownscalingmethodbuiltontheRainFARMtechniquepreviouslydevelopedatCNRimprovedwith the implementation of the orographic correction is employed. For temperature, the downscalingmethod takes into account bias correction procedures and an orographic correction based on thetemperaturelapserate.Aftertestingtheirperformance,themethodshavebeenappliedtotheoutputsofRegional Climate Models from the EURO-CORDEX experiment at ~11 km spatial resolution over oneselected PA, the Gran Paradiso National Park. An example of temperature downscaling over the GranParadisoNationalParkwithinitialdataat11kmresolutionandfinaldataat1kmresolutionisshowninthefollowingfigure.

AnimportantoutcomeofthePisaWorkshopwastheidentificationofthemodeldatatobedownscaled.Inagreementwiththeprojectpartners,theRegionalClimateModeldatasetsincludedintheEURO-CORDEXarchivewasselected.Itwasalsodecidedtofocusfirstonthedatahavingthehighestspatialandtemporalresolution(~11kmand3-hrrespectively)arequirementwhichisfulfilledbytheRCA4RegionalClimateModeldrivenbyfivedifferentGlobalClimateModelsfromtheCMIP5ensemble.Forfutureprojections,thedecisionwastoemploythestandardRCP4.5andRCP8.5scenariosfromthelatestIPCCAssessmentReport.

Multiannual mean of the airtemperature from the RegionalClimateModelRCA4(drivenbytheGCMEC-Earth)at11km,averagedovertheperiod1979-2000.

Multiannual mean of the airtemperature data from theRegionalClimateModelRCA4at11 km downscaled at 1 kmresolution.

Downscaled temperature fieldsat1kmresolutionintheRCP4.5scenario (multiannual averageovertheperiod2070-2100).

Downscaled temperature fieldsat1kmresolutionintheRCP8.5scenario (multiannual averageovertheperiod2070-2100).



Ecopotential@ResearchersNight!30thSeptember2016,Greece,Portugal,Italy

EcopotentialscientistscouldnotmisstheparticipationattheEuropeanResearchersnight! InSeptember30, research institutions from all over Europe opened their gates to citizens and students and proudlyshowed their work and research infrastructures. ECOPOTENTIAL has been presented in Thessaloniki(Greece),Porto(Portugal),LecceandPisa(Italy)inanarrayofmanners:talks,exhibits,visitsofschools.

InPorto,Portugal:The European Research Night in Porto (Portugal) took place in the Natural HistoryMuseum (BotanicalGarden), University of Porto. The beautiful and restored house from the garden received 18 permanentactivities and several sessions. In their activity, entitled “Earth Observation: the satellites in Ecology”,ICETA researchers presented what satellites are, and how they are used in Ecology. People were veryattracted with the astonishing pictures from the Protected Areas landscapes, as well as to see whatinformationcanbederivedfromsatellite images, includingtheextentandmonitoringofburnedareasinPortugal,whichisamajorpressuretoecosystemsinthiscountry.

InLecce,Italy:SaraMontinarofromUniversityofSalentoreported:“HereinLeccewehadagreatresearchers’nightandthe demo of the Ecopotential Scientific Game experienced a huge success”. In Lecce, ECOPOTENTIAL,togetherwithotherprojectsandactivitiesoftheEcologyLaboratoryandLifeWatch,heldastandinoneofthemostbeautifulplacesoftheUniversityofSalento(MonasterodegliOlivetani),wheretheyoungest,fromprimary school to high school, had the opportunity of challenging their competences and knowledge onbiodiversityandprotectedareasthroughtheECOPOTENTIALScientificgame.Thestandhasalwaysbeencrowdedandthescientificgamehadbeenplayedabout30timesduringthenight.



InTessaloniki,Greece:Title of the event was: "Οι δορυφόροι στην υπηρεσία της Φύσης" (The satellites in service of Nature).Researchersdisplayed the interactive gameofECOPOTENTIAL, thevideoof the sitesofECOPOTENTIALthebanner,theposterofECOPOTENTIALandthebrochures.Researchersexplainedtheprojectto6invitedhighschoolsinthemorningandtothegeneralpublicofThessalonikifrom17:00till22:00.ThisyeartheeventtookplaceinthebiggestMallofthecitycoupledwithnumerousphysicgamesandabigscience-rockconcert.8schoolshavevisitedourstandwithabout250-300pupilsintotal.InPisa,Italy:Students,pupilsandadultsvisitedtheIGG-CNRstandinPisa,Italy,intheResearchers'nightsettinginsidetheCNRResearchcampus.CNRresearchersexplainedthemainaimsoftheprojecttovisitorsofdifferentages and cultural backgrounds. TheDemoof the interactive gameonEcologypreparedbyUniversity ofSalentowastestedbymanystudentsandkidswhoappreciateditverymuch.ThedisplayofpicturesoftheProtectedAreashas alsobeenappreciated a lot, as it shows thebeautyof the landscapes aswell as theresearchactivitiesconductedandithelpstounderstandtheimportanceofPAconservation.

InternationalLTERnetwork’sfirstOpenScienceMeeting9-13October2016,KrugerNationalPark,SouthAfrica

ThefirstILTEROpenScienceMeetinghastakenplaceintheKrugerNationalParkinSouth Africa from Sunday, 9 October toThursday, 13 October 2016. Theconference has been hosted by theNationalResearchFoundation,(NRF),theDepartment of Science and Technology(DST) and the South AfricanEnvironmental Observation Network(SAEON).

Morethan300scientistsfromallovertheworldpresentedtheirworkandparticipatedtothediscussionswithoralpresentationsandposters,facingfrontierthemesforecologicalresearchasnutrientsandcarboncyclesandtheirimpacts,monitoringbiodiversityandtheeffectsofclimatechangeacrossscales,theuseofEarthsystemsobservationandtheirlinktoenvironmentalmonitoring,aswellastheuseandvalidationofecologicalmodels.FieldtripstoSouthAfricanecosystemresearchsitesinsideKrugergavetheopportunityof understanding the research conducted by the Park Authority. A session has been dedicated to therelationswithotherrelevantglobalobservationnetworksandinfrastructures.

AsmallbutactivecommunityofECOPOTENTIALresearcherspresentedtheirwork.AntonelloProvenzale,coordinatorofECOPOTENTIAL,presentedtheprojectaswellasthenewGEOECOinitiative,whichisalsopromotingandcoordinating.

LongtermmonitoringactivitiesconductedintheframeworkofECOPOTENTIALinGranParadiso,Kruger,Doñana and Sierra Nevada National Parks have been also presented. Indeed, more than 50% of theProtectedAreasincludedintheprojectareLong-TermEcologicalResearchsites(13sitesoutof24);closecollaboration among ECOPOTENTIAL, other H2020 projects (e.g., SWOS, ConnectinGEO and EU BON),ILTER and Infrastructures such as LTER Europe and LifeWatch are envisaged and encouraged, andECOPOTENTIALprovidessupporttotheecosystem-relatedactivitiesof theGrouponEarthObservations(GEO)andthedataproducts,resultsandknowledgeprovidedbytheprojectwillbemadeopenlyavailablethrough the portals of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and other dedicatedprojectportals.



GEO-XIIIPlenarySession7-10November2016,St.Petersburg,RussianFederation

TheGEO-XIIIPlenaryandExhibitiontookplaceattheParkInn by Radisson Pribaltiyskaya hotel in St.Petersburg(Russian Federation) from 7 to 10 November 2016(http://www.earthobservations.org/geo13.php).GEO isauniqueglobalnetwork, includingmorethan100national governments and in excess of 100 Participating

Organizations that envisions a future where decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind areinformedbycoordinated,comprehensiveandsustainedEarthobservations.TheGEOPlenary is thehighestdecision-makingbodyofGEO.TheGWPpresents the activities thatGEOundertakes torealize itsVision,MissionandStrategicObjectivesandapproves theWorkProgrammeforthe forthcoming years. ECOPOTENTIAL is actively contributing to GEO and GEOSS (the GEO “System ofSystems”aimedtorenderingtheopenaccessdatainEOavailabletothescientificcommunity)throughtheVirtual Laboratory Platform, presented by Stefano Nativi and Paolo Mazzetti, researchers at CNR andLeadersof theECOPOTENTIALWorkPackage#10.OtherECOPOTENTIALscientists thatpresented theirworkwere:PalmaBlonda(CNR),IvetteSerralMontoroandJoanMaso(CREAF).ECOPOTENTIALhasbeenpresentedattheEUstand(Videos,PosterandLeaflets).AmongtheGEOCommunityActivities,threeofthemdeserveaparticularinterestfortheECOPOTENTIALcommunity:theGEO-GNOME,GEO-ECOandEO4EAinitiatives.GEOGNOME(GrouponEarthObservationsInitiative“GlobalNetworkforObservationsandInformationinMountainEnvironments”),willaddressthepaucity of observations and information on mountains. In GEO-GNOME, ECOPOTENTIAL is expected tocontributesignificantlytocompilingdatathatquantifyecosystemservices,socio-economicmeasuresanddrivers arising from or impinging upon mountains with its planned mountain-related activities. It iscoordinatedbyElisaPalazzi,researcheratCNR-ISAC,ItalyandpartnerofECOPOTENTIAL.TheGEOGLOBALECOSYSTEMINITIATIVE(GEOECO)activitiesaredevotedtoobtainingtheintegrationofremote sensing and in-situ data, collectively called Earth Observations, and make best use of them tosupport themanagement and conservation of natural ecosystems. Thank to Ecopotential activities, GEOECOwill develop strict links with the stakeholder, PAmanagement and policy-making communities byactivating a permanent stakeholder consultancy group and involving PAmanagers, stakeholders, natureconservation associations, economic sectors and concerned citizen groups into the definition anddiscussionofthecrucialsocialandeconomicneedsofthe localpopulations.EO4EA(EOobservationsforEcosystemAccounting)wasdiscussedbyJohnMatuszak,U.S.DepartmentofStateBureauofOceansinthePanel“AdvancingtheVisionofGEO-Userandpolicy-driveninitiatives”.

LIFE-ECOPOTENTIALMeeting15-17November2016,Irvine(CA),UnitedState

On 15-17 November 2016, the University ofCalifornia at Irvine hosted the meetingbetween representatives of theECOPOTENTIAL Project (AntonelloProvenzale, Constantin Cazacu, Ghada ElSerafyandHermanHummel)andparticipantsintheLIFENetwork.LIFE(LinkedInstitutionsfor Future Earth) is an international networkof institutions, researchers andexperimental/field sites dedicated toadvancing the quantitative understanding of

earthsurfaceprocessesandenvironmentchange.LIFEissponsoredbytheScienceAcrossVirtualInstitutes(SAVI) initiative of NSF, aiming to catalyse global research activities efficiently and economically, whilementoringandcreatinginternationalresearchopportunitiesforjuniorresearchers.



Themeetingfocusedontwomainquestions,namely(1)Whatisthestate-of-knowledgeonprotectedareasandotherecologicalreserves?and(2)Whataretheopportunitiesforinfluencingmanagementandpolicyofprotectedareasandotherecologicalreserves?One of the goals of the meeting was to foster interactions between the network of Protected AreasparticipatinginECOPOTENTIALandthesystemofProtectedAreasandfieldsitesofCalifornia.Attheendof the meeting, two major challenges, to be explored together, were identified: (a) How can we buildbottom-upapplication-orientedfutureprojectionsbasedontheanalysisofthepossiblecriticalclimaticandland-use conditions for the ecosystems under consideration, and on the subsequent estimate of theprobabilityofoccurrenceof suchcritical conditions in future scenarios, and (b)howcanweupscale theinformationgainedinindividualsitestosciencequestionsandpolicyissuesatregionalscales?Afterthemeeting,interactionscontinuedthroughemailexchanges,webmeetingsandshareddocuments,andareplannedtocontinueandbeexpandedinthecomingmonths.

2ndInternationalMarineScienceCommunicationConference6-8December2016,Bruges–Belgium

Bolstering understanding of ocean researchand its possible applications for society atlarge is the most effective way to triggerconcreteactionsinfavourofahealthierocean.That was the main message behind the

organizationofthe2ndInternationalMarineScienceCommunicationConference,CommOCEAN(Bruges,6-8December2016).The CommOCEAN conferencewas followedby a 1-day training, organized through IOC’sOceanTeacherGlobalAcademy.LisaTosseyfromtheUniversityofDelawareandtheNationalMarineScienceEducatorsAssociation led several sessions focused on giving the 50 participants all the tools and tips for effectiveoceansciencecommunicationinthedigitalera.TheCommOCEANconferencewasco-organizedbytheECOPOTENTIALpartnerUNESCO-IOC,theFlandersMarineInstitute(VLIZ),theEuropeanMarineBoard(EMB)anditsCommunicationpanel.

ECOPOTENTIALAgendaJointmeetingECOPOTENTIAL-SWOS16–20January2017,Arles,France

SWOS(Satellite-basedWetlandObservationService)andEcopotentialsharemorethan being both two H2020 projects: SWOS aims to make best use of RemoteSensingdataformonitoringEcosystemServicesinwetlands,withaparticularfocusonareaswhereavailabilityofdataispoor.Stakeholders’involvementisessentialinSWOS for designing services and products and delivering tools for supportingpolicymaking andmanagement for wetland ecosystems. Ecopotential and SWOSapproachesarethusverysimilarand,sharingtheexperiencesofthetwoscientificcommunities, can bring benefits to both projects. This is the main driver fororganizingthenextfirstjointECOPOTENTIAL-SWOSmeetingthatwilltakeplaceatTour du Valat (Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humidesméditerranéennes) in Arles, France, from 16th to 20th January 2017. Themeetingwill host parallel thematic workshops and will focus on the identification of

common research interests in using RS data for assessing and mapping ecosystem services and fordeveloping tools forassistingProtectedAreasmanagers insustainableecosystemservicessupply,and itwillaimtoidentifyconcretecollaborationsanddiscussjointscientificpublications.



Land-coverchangemonitoringandanalysisworkshopintheNegev7–9February2017,BenGurionUniversity-SedeBoker,Israel

OneofthemajorchallengesinECOPOTENTIAListhedetectionofchangesovertimeinProtectedAreas.TheuseofGISwillbeofmajorhelp forhandlingandanalysing the required information. For this aim, the Remote SensingLaboratory of Ben Gurion University in Sde Boker, Israel, has organized aworkshopontheuseofQGIS(andsomeARCGIS)intheanalysisofchangefromRemoteSensingfortheECOPOTENTIALProtectedAreas.TheworkshopwilltakeplaceintheSdeBokercampusofBGU,Israel,on7and8 February 2017 and it is reserved to ECOPOTENTIAL partners. After that,there will be a one-day discussion of the Negev Storyline. Among theECOPOTENTIAL Protected Areas, the workshop will see we the direct

involvementofthefollowingPAs:Peneda-Geres,Samaria,LakesOhrid/Prespa,Hardangervidda,Camargue,Kalkalpen,SierraNevada;HarHaNegev,GranParadiso,WaddenSea,TatraMountains.

ApplicationofEarthObservationtoolsinprotectedareasworkshop-Establishingacommunityofpractice2-5May2017,Pisa,Italy

Innovative technologies for Earth Observation andmodelling are emerging. European Protected Areas(PAs)have theopportunity tobeat the forefront intheir application, such as for demonstrating thevalue their ecosystems bring to society. The mainaim of this meeting is to determine what kind ofproducts and tools developed in the framework ofECOPOTENTIAL can facilitate the effective use ofEarth Observation (EO) information in themanagement of the participating PAs. The secondaimfortheworkshopistobeaseedforthecreationof an ecosystem Community of Practice in theframeworkoftheGrouponEarthObservation(GEO)andtheGlobalEarthObservationSystemofSystems

(GEOSS)andGEOECO:theGEOGlobalEcosystemInitiative.ArecentstudyconductedbyECOPOTENTIALscientistsindicatethattheuseofEOtools(developedfrombothRemote Sensing and In Situdata) in themanagementofPAs is overall lowandhaspotential tobeenhanced,duetotherequesttoacquiremoreknowledgeonhowtouseEOtools.Atthesametime,thereare good case studies of Remote Sensing use in some PAs and also willingness to share experiences.ECOPOTENTIALhastheaimofprovidingknowledgeandtrainingresourcesforfillingthisgap.AusefultoolwillbetheECOPOTENTIALVirtualLabPlatformtobeestablishedundertheproject.Toanswersuchquestionsand further identify themainPAneeds, aworkshopwillbeorganized inMay2017 inside theNaturalReserve–RegionalParkofSanRossore,Pisa, Italy,whereabout70participants(researchersandtechnicalexpertsofthePAsparticipatingintheproject)willdiscussaboutthefollowingtopics:

• Applicationofinsitumonitoringdata;• UseandinterpretationofRemoteSensingproducts;• Modellingofecosystems,ecosystemfunctionsandservices;• CitizenscienceactivitiesinPAs.

TheworkshopwilladdresschallengesforEOapplicationintraining,software&hardwareacquisitionandfor the use of the ecosystem services approach in PA management. Feedback provided by PArepresentatives through the workshops will be mainstreamed into the work of the relevantECOPOTENTIALWorkPackages.Venue:Pisa,Italy-RegionalNaturalReserve“SanRossore–Migliarino–Massaciuccoli”Dates:2–4May2017:Workshop–5May:Optionalfieldtrip1/2day.



OtherforthcomingInitiativesandConferencesThe9thGEOSSAsia-PacificSymposium.1-13January,2017,Tokyo,Japan

The 9th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium, to be held inTokyo,Japan,from11-13January,2017,willaddressthetheme of Earth Observations Supporting theImplementationoftheSDGsintheAsiaPacificRegion.TheSymposiumisbeingorganizedbyJapanGEOandtheGEOSecretariat,withthesupportof Japan’sMinistryofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT).The Symposium will focus on responses andcontributions to thesocietalneedsandpartnerships for

theGlobalEarthObservationSystemofSystems(GEOSS)withtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),andrelated international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, and Sendai Framework for Disaster RiskReduction.http://www.geoss-ap-symposium9.org

MappingandAssessmentofEcosystemsandtheirServices–Scienceinaction6-7February2017,Sofia,Bulgaria

The conference aims to bringtogether researchers from differentcountries to discuss the scientificaspects of mapping and assessment

ofecosystemsandtheirservices.Itwillbefocusedonthemethodsformappingofecosystemservices,thechallenges and problems of their implementation in the national assessments related to MAES. Theprogramincludesplenarysessionswithkeynotesandworkshopsonthemainconferencetopics:

• Mappingofecosystems• Assessmentofecosystem’scondition• Mappingandassessmentofecosystemservices§ Biophysicalperspectives§ Socio-culturalperspectives

Moreinfoat:http://www.metecosmap-sofia.org/

ESAWorldCover2017Conference14-16March2017–Frascati,Italy

The European Space Agency together withGEO, FAO and EU are organising theWorldCover 2017 Conference. The event willbe hosted in ESA-ESRIN from14 to 16March2017. The conference is open to Land Coverusers, scientists, students, representativesfrom National, European and InternationalSpace Agencies, Value Adding Industries,LaboratoriesandUniversities.

http://worldcover2017.esa.int/



RSCy2017—Fifth InternationalConferenceonRemoteSensingandGeo-InformationoftheEnvironment20-23March2017,Paphos,Cyprus

In the past 4 years, theRScy2013, RSCy2014, RSCy2015 andRSCy2016 conferences have been extremely successful andincluded experts in the fields of remote sensing and geo-information fromover40different countries everyyear.Theconference sessions and workshops include presentationsregardingthestate-of-the-artmethodsandinnovativeprojectsin various areas of remote sensing and geo-information. TheRSCYconferencesareattendedbyover200participantseach

year, making the conference an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues and showcase youragency.Formoreinfo:http://www.cyprusremotesensing.com/rscy2017/

EuropeanGeosciencesUnionGeneralAssembly201723–28April2017,Vienna,Austria

The EGU General Assembly 2017 will bring togethergeoscientistsfromallovertheworldtoonemeetingcoveringalldisciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences.The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists,especiallyearlycareerresearchers,canpresenttheirworkand discuss their ideas with experts in all fields ofgeoscience. The EGU is looking forward to cordiallywelcomingyouinVienna(http://egu2017.eu/)

IUFRO8.01.02LandscapeEcologyConference201724-29September2017,Halle(Germany)

TheInternational Union of Forest researchOrganisationwill hold a conferencewith the theme“TheGreen-BlueNexus:Forests,LandscapesandServices”whichaimstoaddresstowhatextentand

how the status of any particular forest ecosystem and its temporal dynamics, should be included in theoverall assessment of ecosystems and their services at larger scales such as landscape scale. Theconference will address particularly the topic “Green-Blue-Nexus in information society – supportingintegrativeforestmanagementacrossscalesandactors”,whilespacewillbeconservedforotherIUFROLEand–asaninterfacetoIALE–otherlandscapeecologyrelevantthemes.http://es-partnership.org/iufro-8-01-02-landscape-ecology-conference-2017/

ThisprojecthasreceivedfundingfromtheEuropeanUnion’sHorizon2020researchandinnovationprogramundergrantagreementNo641762.-CopyrightbyECOPOTENTIALConsortium

Contacts:Website:http://www.ecopotential-project.eu/Facebook:Facebook/EcoPotentialProject Twitter:#ECOPOTENTIAL Emailcontact:http://www.ecopotential-project.eu/[email protected]

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF FOREST RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS

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