Mathias Disney

I am a Professor of Remote Sensing in the Department of Geography and member of the Environmental Monitoring and Modelling Group. I am also a member of the NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO).

My background was a BSc in physics, followed by our very own UCL MSc in remote sensing. I then studied radiative transfer modelling of crop canopies for my PhD, using detailed 3D models to explore the information content of moderate resolution satellite data, to test simpler models and validate new (at the time!) satellite albedo products based on these simpler approaches. This led to work with NASA colleagues on the MODIS BRDF/albedo product, amongst other things.

My research interests lie in using new observations of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly trees and forests, across scales from individual leaves to global. My aim is to better understand the interactions between vegetation, climate and people, by quantifying the relationships between tree form and function. I do this by combining traditional field measurements with cutting-edge new technologies including in particular ground-based terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and satellite Earth Observation (EO). The approaches I have helped develop are now being used to underpin new space-based global forest measurements by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), among other international organisations e.g. for calibration and validation biomass missions. I have led field campaigns to Gabon, Ghana, Brazil and the US for this work. I also have worked in temperate forests, particularly in the UK, and in urban areas, exploring how we can improve understanding of the relationship between structure and function of trees.

I have pioneered the use of new highly-accurate TLS measurement and models to provide unique 3D measurements of forest structure and biomass. These measurements are proving to be of critical importance in reducing uncertainty in estimates of tropical forest C stocks from ground and space. My new approach to ‘weighing’ trees with lasers by calculating their 3D shape and volume very precisely, is providing new insights into current tropical forest C stocks. I have collaborated widely with partners across the tropics to characterise forest AGB.

My work on characterising forest structure is also providing new ways to test fundamental hypotheses relating tree and forest structure to function: what controls tree size and shape? How do size and form reflect the various contributions of metabolic, environmental and evolutionary constraints? What are the implications for responses to disturbance and change? These questions are almost impossible to answer for large, hyper-diverse trees and forests; accurate measurements of tree structure of the sort I have developed are providing new insights and empirical tests of these hypotheses, which have been sorely lacking so far. This work has led to a wide range of publications, outreach activities, and funding to lead field campaigns, develop methods, organise and participate in international workshops and research networks around the broad themes of new forest measurements.