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Projects
International
| PANGEOS - PANGEOS - Pan-European Network of Green Deal Agriculture and Forestry Earth Observation Science | |
| PANGEOS - Pan-European Network of Green Deal Agriculture and Forestry Earth Observation Science | |
| Program: | COST |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Halabuk Andrej, PhD. |
| Annotation: | The sustainability of Europe’s green resources are threatened by climate change associated environmental changes. Agricultural systems and forests are among the ecosystems mostly interlinked with human health and wellbeing due to the socio-economic services they provide. Whether heat, drought, extreme weather, or biotic stressors, conventional agriculture and forestry today is unprepared for future climate scenarios, rising populations, changing consumption habits, and traditional management practices need re-thinking. The objectives set by PANGEOS are developed in the wake of the European Green Deal strategic goals. For agriculture, these include ensuring food security in the face of climate change, strengthening the EU food system’s resilience and reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU agricultural sector towards a competitive and sustainable use and management of resources. For forestry, these span the protection, restoration and enlargement of the EU’s forests to combat climate change, reversing biodiversity loss and ensuring resilient and multifunctional forest ecosystems. To support these goals, PANGEOS aims to leverage state-of-the-art remote sensing (RS) technologies to advance field phenotyping workflows, precision agriculture/forestry practices and larger-scale operational assessments for a more sustainable management of Europe’s natural resources. We propose to bridge the gap between state-of-the-art technologies and applied sciences, to directly serve and inform academics, Young Researchers and Innovators, Inclusiveness Target Countries and Near Neighbor Countries, end-users (e.g., farmers, foresters), and stakeholders in industry and policy-makers by bringing together RS experts and applications in (1) Field Phenotyping, (2) Precision and Regenerative Agriculture, (3) Sustainable Land Management of Complex European landscapes, and (4) Uncertainty Analysis and Standardization. |
| Project webpage: | https://pangeos.eu/ |
| Duration: | 6.11.2023 - 6.11.2027 |
| Restore4Life - Restore4Life - Obnova mokraďových komplexov ako systémov podporujúcich život v povodí Dunaja | |
| Restore4Life - Restoration of wetland complexes as life supporting systems in the Danube Basin | |
| Program: | Horizon Europe |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | Restore4Life demonstrates the multiple socio-economic benefits generated by a holistic and transdisciplinary approach for the restoration of freshwater and coastal wetlands in the Danube basin that will contribute to new blue-green infrastructure supporting regional climate change resilience and mitigation. Restore4Life engages in 4 demonstration sites and 6 monitoring sites all across the Danube basin to make evident that increased delivery of key ecosystem services, as water and pollutant retention, carbon sequestration and tourism opportunities as well as improved resilience of water-dependent habitats will produce multiple socioeconomic synergies that also provide opportunities for sustainable businesses and investments.Implementation of activities basically aiming to restore lateral connectivity in riverine corridors will be supported by a Restore4Life long term wetland restoration service/ Restore4Life Wetland Reconstruction Accelerator that combines timely integrative wetland management with a novel level of societal engagement. The Accelerator will provide tested indicators, monitoring approaches and decision support to identify adapted and future-oriented restoration goals, techniques and holistic road maps. Citizens and stakeholders will be empowered to engage in the co-design of projects by establishing stakeholder communities of practice, by twinning of similar projects at different realization stage, citizen science, thematic mobile apps and the use of multiple communication channels with special focus on visual, hands-on interactive information flow that promotes emotional links to water shaped environment. The various tools generated by Restore4Life also including handbooks for business audiences and targeted restoration roadmaps will secure the efficient replication of restoration activities in associated regions. In collaboration with similar mission activities, Restore4Life thus efficiently supports integrative social and economic transitions. |
| Duration: | 1.6.2023 - 31.5.2027 |
| eLTER PPP - eLTER Preparatory Phase Project | |
| eLTER Preparatory Phase Project | |
| Program: | Horizon 2020 |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | eLTER RI is a pan-European Research Infrastructure planned to be operational in 2027. It has been built on the basis of existing national investments over several decades in the context of dedicated networks and ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological research projects. 162 Research Performing Organisations support the eLTER RI Science Case through a signed MoU, and 19 countries (including Slovakia) have formally provided political support to establishment of eLTER RI. The eLTER RI intends to create scientifically sound information required in response to grand societal challenges, while working as a distributed RI in the most cost-efficient way. It will continuously enhance its services and in-situ facilities to meet the needs of stakeholders as to emerging research challenges. Thereby, it will bring Europe to a globally leading role in ecosystem sciences. eLTER PPP will establish the vision and mission, strategic collaboration schemes and impact analysis of the RI; plan, consolidate with shareholders and start to implement the governance structures, coordinate a smooth transition from preparation into operations by establishing a legal entity, and by clearly identifying risks and risk reduction measures; prepare the cost benefit analysis, full Cost Book of the RI, and the financial plans for the mid-term and long-term perspective, and consolidate them with the shareholders; conclude the requirements of the RI to be met by the Central Services, identify the host for the Head Office, and the scope and decision making processes for hosting other central service components; finalise the technical specifications of eLTER RI concerning National Research Infrastructure design, eLTER Standard Observations and site categories, and establish a site labelling process; and develop and set up communication, dissemination and marketing structures or seamless continuation in eLTER RI, and engaging the eLTER scientific user community and other user groups beyond the project life time. |
| Project webpage: | https://www.lter-europe.net/projects/PPP |
| Duration: | 1.2.2020 - 31.1.2025 |
| eLTER PLUS - European long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems research infrastructure PLUS | |
| European long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems research infrastructure PLUS | |
| Program: | Horizon 2020 |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | Progress in understanding, managing and securing current and future ecosystem functions and services is challenged by fragmented and dispersed ecosystem research, operated using narrow disciplinary perspectives that prevent a holistic understanding of complex eco- and socio-ecological systems. The emerging European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI) was evaluated by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) as having high potential for closing this gap in the European RI landscape. The primary objective of eLTER PLUS is to open and expand the research capacities and impact of eLTER by engaging current and new users and developing the operations of cross- and transdisciplinary research, exemplified in eLTER Site and Platform design and the RI’s Standard Observation framework. eLTER PLUS will execute a performance test of the emerging RI and assess and strengthen its operations in real time. It will further advance community building and provisioning of services as pursued by the H2020-funded eLTER INFRAIA Starting Community project and related projects. Its focus is on making intensive use of 35 selected sites and platforms in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems, combined with observational data from an additional 50 sites, for studying ecosystem and socio-ecological responses to globally-relevant environmental challenges in terms of ecosystem integrity and ecosystem services. Its Whole-Systems approach will derive meaningful scientific and policy-relevant information via co-designed, transdisciplinary research in collaboration with diverse stakeholders at local, regional and EU-scales. Concerted actions also focus on collaboration with peer RIs to maximize synergies, increase efficiencies and catalyze holistic understanding of ecosystem function, and on development of virtual laboratories where in-situ site data are linked with other data sources, e.g. Copernicus. |
| Project webpage: | https://www.lter-europe.net/projects/PLUS |
| Duration: | 1.2.2020 - 31.1.2025 |
| CHIME_NPV - CHIME_NPV - Kvantifikácia nefotosyntetickej vegetácie z budúcej misie Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment | |
| CHIME_NPV - Towards quantification of non-photosynthetic vegetation from Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment | |
| Program: | European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Halabuk Andrej, PhD. |
| Annotation: | The project activities represent a feasibility study of imaging spectroscopy\'s added value for NPV mapping in agricultural landscapes. Current state-of-the-art approaches are explored followed by set of empirical analyses and tests for effective retrieval algorithms and mapping using PRISMA and EnMAP products. In addition, NPV-relevant data are continuously collected through dedicated field campaigns of varying scales (plot to region wide). |
| Duration: | 2.4.2022 - 1.4.2024 |
| SatZones - SatZones - Identifikácia výnosových zón na poľnohospodárskych pozemkoch s využitím satelitných údajov | |
| SatZones - Satellite-based delineation of yield productivity zones for Slovak crop fields | |
| Program: | European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Kenderessy Pavol, PhD. |
| Annotation: | The delineation of "quasi homogenous" management zones is the basis of the precision agriculture (PA) practices, addressing the within-field variability of crop status and crop yield. Many ground-based methods exist for the delineation of management zones, though, due to the complexity and costs, they are not commonly applied in Slovak agricultural sector. On the other hand, cost-effective satellite-based approaches for identifying so-called yield productivity zones have been recently introduced. Yield productivity zones represent highly productive, respectively less productive zones within field parcels. In particular, the time-series approaches using satellite-based vegetation indices with relevant spatial and temporal resolutions (e.g. Sentinel2 or Landsat products) may identify stable recurring crop status patterns, resulting in identifying yield productivity zones. Though many services exist based on a user request basis, a "broad-scale full coverage" delivery of yield productivity zones in an automated manner is still rare. We aim to develop such a system to enhance satellite-based (later referred as EO based) agricultural services for "literally" 61 000 field parcels, a substantial number of Slovak farmers, and finally for the all ”digital farming” industry.The main technical objective of the project is development of the automated processor for creation of yield productivity zones at broader scale. Furthermore, EO-based service for farmers based on this processor will be designed. The end goal of the proposal is enhancement of the EO-based services for agriculture and precision farming. |
| Duration: | 15.2.2022 - 31.7.2023 |
| Sen2ForMaM - Mapovanie a monitoring poškodenia lesných porastov s podporou satelitných produktov Sentinel 2 | |
| Sentinel 2 based support of forest disturbance mapping and monitoring | |
| Program: | European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Halabuk Andrej, PhD. |
| Annotation: | Existing forest geospatial decision support system will be improved byfunctionality for monitoring of forest status and disturbances with use of timely Sentinel2satellite images and derived products. Specific technological objectives are:1. Development of analytical tools for assessment of forest status and disturbance usingSentinel2 products2. Development data collection and visualization services for web and mobile platforms offorestry GIS system3. Operationalization of Sentinel2 based forest disturbance mapping for regional forestrysectorThe products and services will be implemented, thoroughly tested and verified in Orava forestadministration district according to requirements of already identified customer.The end goal and final customer benefits will be: early identification of changes in forest health and forest disturbances prevention of larger forest disturbance and damages by timely forest managementmeasures minimizing of the management costs and optimization of field work for monitoring |
| Duration: | 1.1.2019 - 31.12.2020 |
| OpenNESS - Funkčnosť prírodných kapitálov a ekologických služieb: od konceptu k reálnej aplikácii (OpenNESS) | |
| Operationalisation of Natural Capital and EcoSystem Services: From Concepts to Real-world Applications (OpenNESS) | |
| Program: | FP7 |
| Project leader: | Prof. RNDr. Izakovičová Zita, PhD. |
| Annotation: | The project is aimed at the evaluation of current state of research in the topic land management and definition of the needs for the next period. The main sub-objectives of the project are: 1) Identify social challenges related to land, especially land use, the management of land and soil protection, land use and utilisation of landscape resources, 2) Evaluate approaches to integrated land management, to evaluate the current strengths and weaknesses, define proposals to improve the situation, 3) Identify the need for research in the area land use and land management, 4) Identify the main groups of "stakeholders" and create a network of all groups "stakeholders" in the field, 5) Ensure the transfer of knowledge in practice and contribute to improving policy EU and research in this area. |
| Duration: | 1.12.2012 - 31.5.2017 |
National
| Analýzy a hodnotenia environmentálnej histórie vybraných typov krajiny Slovenska od mladšieho praveku po súčasnosť | |
| Analysis and evaluations of the environmental history of selected types of Slovak landscape from the early prehistory to the present | |
| Program: | VEGA |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Piscová Veronika, PhD. |
| Annotation: | By using natural resources, ecosystem services and activities, man directly or indirectly affects the naturalenvironment and the quality of its components, within a time and space framework. The extent and intensity ofhuman influence on the landscape has been changing over the centuries, depending on current period. Toidentify the degree of human influence on the landscape, it is essential to get know the original landscape, whichhas not been significantly affected by man. As such, a landscape no longer exists in the Central Europe; it needsto be scientifically reconstructed in some way. The aim of the project is to reconstruct the landscape, in modelareas representing selected types of the Slovak landscape, in several periods of historical and archaeologicalpast and to evaluate the consequences of human activities in them. It is important to analyse the relationshipbetween man and his environment over the time. |
| Duration: | 1.1.2023 - 31.12.2026 |
| CALTER - Toky uhlíka v pôde hlavných typov lesných ekosystémov na výškovom gradiente Západných Karpát. | |
| Soil carbon fluxes in dominant forest ecosystems along elevation gradient in the Western Carpathians | |
| Program: | SRDA |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | Forest stores more than 70% of global soil carbon (C) and plays a central role in soil surface-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases. Due to the amount of C stored in the soil, it is essential to recognize that even a small change within this pool could significantly feedback the earth system. Soil organic carbon occurs in diverse forms, which according to the stability, can be divided into an active (labile) fraction, whose persistence time varies from a few weeks to a few months, and a stable fraction, which can persist in the soil for many years or even centuries. Soil loses C by two main processes - respiration and leaching. Both of them show complex spatio-temporal biophysical controls that vary on different scales as a consequence of changes in biotic (plant or microbial community) and abiotic (e.g., soil temperature, soil moisture, soil texture) factors. Soil respiration (Rs) consists of the two main components - heterotrophic (Rh) and autotrophic respiration (Ra), which respond differently to changes in influencing factors. The elevation is a key driver of climate properties playing an essential role in soil carbon content and fluxes. The main aim of our project is to identify C loss by respiration and leaching and to identify their driving factors along an elevation gradient representing the main forest communities in the Western Carpathians. Study plots are located in sites dedicated to long-term ecological research (LTER Slovakia). Possible impact of elevated temperature on soil C fluxes will be studied in open-top greenhouses. For reliable estimation of naturally very variable soil C fluxes we will optimize sampling strategy for each studied ecosystem by spatial stratification and by adjustment of measuring frequency. |
| Project webpage: | n/a |
| Duration: | 1.7.2022 - 30.6.2025 |
| Dlhodobé zmeny znečistenia ovzdušia a ich dopad na ekosystémy | |
| Long-term changes of atmospheric pollution and their impact to ecosystems | |
| Program: | VEGA |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | The project will assess long-term changes in air pollution and their impacts on selected ecosystems. The firstproject theme is study of changes in atmospheric deposition using bryophytes as pollutant accumulators. We willcontinue in former several decades lasting research using the ICP Vegetation methodology. We will developpollution maps for Slovakia and assess impacts on humans and ecosystems. At the Báb LTER site, we willcontinue the study of pollutants accumulation in bryophytes, tree leaves and soil of forest ecosystem. The secondtheme is an experimental study of impacts of elevated temperature and nitrogen and phosphorus deposition onthe ecosystem of alpine grasslands in the LTER sites Jalovecká dolina (since 2002; phosphorus and 3 nitrogenconcentrations; since 2009 also ecosystem regeneration) and Kráľova hoľa (since 2009; temperature rise,nitrogen deposition and their combination). We will repeat all previous measurements, assess changes andimpacts on the ecosystem structure and functioning. |
| Duration: | 1.1.2021 - 31.12.2024 |
| URANOS - Údajová a vedomostná podpora pre systémy rozhodovania a strategického plánovania v oblasti adaptácie poľnohospodárskej krajiny na klimatické zmeny a minimalizáciu degradácie poľnohospodárskych pôd | |
| Scientific support of climate change adaptation in agriculture and mitigation of soil degradation. | |
| Program: | EU Structural Funds Research & Development |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Halabuk Andrej, PhD. |
| Duration: | 3.4.2020 - 30.6.2023 |
| Ekologické analýzy akulturácie krajiny Slovenska od mladšieho praveku dodnes | |
| Ecological Analyses of Landscape Acculturation in Slovakia since Early Prehistory until Today | |
| Program: | VEGA |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Piscová Veronika, PhD. |
| Annotation: | Human impact on landscape of Slovakia is manifested more markedly since the Neolithic period (New StoneAge). Acculturation processes such as mutual adoption and merging different cultures and process of social andcultural changes accompany people throughout their history and reflect on the environment (Škvarna, 2007). Thehuman impact on the landscape may appear at first positive, but it may have a negative influence on the natureitself and finally on people as well (Erten, Van Deb Berg, Weissing 2007). For this reason, it is important toanalyze the impact of landscape changes on people and also on natural ecosystems. The aim of this project is toreconstruct the landscape in several periods of historical and archaeological past and to evaluate theconsequences of human activity in the model areas. An important role will be played by the confrontation of theevolution of settlement and vegetation changes in the territories in the same chronological sections. |
| Duration: | 1.1.2019 - 31.12.2022 |
| Demetra - Hodnotenie novodobých zmien a vývojových trendov poľnohospodárskej krajiny Slovenska (Demetra) | |
| Assessment of recent changes and trends in agricultural landscape of Slovakia (Demetra) | |
| Program: | SRDA |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Halada Ľuboš, CSc. |
| Annotation: | The project responds to insufficiently known consequences of the current rapid and extensive changes of agricultural landscape (AL). The aim is to evaluate the extent and distribution of the recent changes in the AL use in Slovakia after r. 1990, their trends and impacts on main functions and depending ecosystem services. The project is based on the DPSIR concept that evaluates environmental context of human activities in the form of a causal chain, following the causes, conditions and consequences. The main original features of the project is a comprehensive approach with the analysis and evaluation of natural and socio-economic factors, with emphasis of internationally established indicators use, analysis of trends and formulation of possible future scenarios, interconnection of multiple spatial levels, the combination of analytical procedures with empirical knowledge and stakeholder involvement.The project is planned for 48 months (07/2018-06/2022). It will develop special methods, procedures and indicators to be applied at national level and in local case studies in all major types of AL. In addition to scientific contribution, the project will also propose measures, tools and procedures for decision-making and planning of the sustainable use of AL. |
| Duration: | 1.8.2018 - 30.6.2022 |
| Zmeny poľnohospodárskej krajiny Slovenska vplyvom politík Európskej Únie | |
| Changes in Slovak Landscape Driven by European Union Agricultural Policy | |
| Program: | VEGA |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Lieskovský Juraj, PhD. |
| Annotation: | The project is focused on identification and evaluation of changes in agricultural landscape (AL), which were after 2004 affected by the EU legislation in fields of agriculture, water protection and nature conservation. It is based on analysis of the EU policies as drivers of changes in AL. It will study types and intensity of use of AL on regional and local levels. The project combines methods of remote sensing (RS) and field research. RS will be used for timely obtaining information on AL. Also will be developed and tested innovative approaches and methods with use of new satellite sensors. In local scale will be studied impact of changes in use in AL on biodiversity. For biodiversity study were selected indication groups of vegetation, invertebrates (spiders, dragonflies) and vertebrates (amphibians, birds). Studied will be sites from which exist data from previous research, wetlands and newly evolved biotopes in AL. The final phase will be synthesis of current state and changes in AL and biodiversity. |
| Duration: | 1.1.2016 - 31.12.2019 |