Land use change and landscape dynamics

Landscapes are not static; landcover changes with time due to natural causes but particularly due to human activities. If this is accompanied by a loss, degradation, or fragmentation of habitats, the effects on biodiversity can be especially severe. However, the patterns of species extinctions in these habitats are not yet understood in sufficient detail. For example, there have been delays in species extinctions in receding or declining habitats, and delays in the colonization of new habitats. In fact, these patterns of species extinction and colonization depend on the abundance of individuals and their dispersal ability, but also their interaction with the adjacent landscape which is constantly and quickly changing. Therefore, addressing this problem from a landscape scale and including all social actors in the decision-making process is especially useful for proposing effective management options adapted to the region.

• Analysis with GIS, remote sensing and modelling:  We develop new modeling methods for predicting landscape dynamics under different scenarios and incorporating very diverse disturbance regimes; we conduct research on changes in landcover by using long temporal series of satellite images and we improve the processing of the images. 
• Effects on biodiversity: We study the possible extinction debts of plants and butterflies in Mediterranean mountain pastures. We analyze patterns of community assembly (of plants and some animal groups) in young forests in the province of Barcelona.  
• Effects on ecosystem services at the regional scale: We analyze modifications to the hydrological regimes of Mediterranean river basins. We conduct possible future land use scenarios for some basins in Catalonia. 
• Global effects: We study changes in vegetation cover worldwide and relationships with atmospheric chemistry and changes in climate.  We study the socio-economic factors promoting deforestation of the tropics and possible solutions to prevent this. 
• Reconstruction of past landscapes and environmental conditions: We combine paleolimnology and spatial modeling techniques to make such reconstructions.