Endijs Bāders

Title: “Identification of tree stress by remote sensing techniques”

Abstract of presentation: Both urban and rural forests are increasingly experiencing climatic and biotic stress events, as well as random disturbances, some of which are outside the normal range. Under the most climate change scenarios, it is expected that there will be increase in events with extreme weather conditions, such as wind storms and/or droughts which will reflect with the difficulties of tree growth. Therefore, the identification of early signs of damages is important in the context of tree health.

The study examines the use of remote sensing technologies to monitor tree health and to detect damages via the example of response of Norway spruce to simulated wind impact. The monitoring of tree vitality has been carried out during two vegetation seasons. The study found significant differences between control trees and bent trees, suggesting Norway spruce to have the ability to recover previous vitality within a two-year period. However, the study also points out the limitations and uncertainty of relying solely on remote sensing data for management decisions.

Biography: Endijs Bāders is a researcher of the Latvian State Forest Research
Institute "Silava".  Currently he works on several research projects
related to identification of tree adaptation to stress, as well as undergoes
a training in application of artificial intelligence in forestry.