Tutorials
The role of the tutorials is to provide a platform for a more intensive scientific exchange amongst researchers interested in a particular topic and as a meeting point for the community. Tutorials complement the depth-oriented technical sessions by providing participants with broad overviews of emerging fields. A tutorial can be scheduled for 1.5 or 3 hours.
Tutorial proposals are accepted until:
April 10, 2026
If you wish to propose a new Tutorial please kindly fill out and submit this
Expression of Interest form.
Tutorial on
Living Earth: Novel and scalable approaches to mapping, monitoring and planning environments.
Instructor
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Richard Lucas
Aberystwyth University
United Kingdom
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Brief Bio
Professor Richard Lucas (Aberystwyth University’s Department of Geography and Earth Science) has over 35 years of experience in multi-scale temporal characterisation of primarily vegetated environments from Earth observation data in support of ecological, biogeographical, carbon cycle and climate science, with this obtained primarily through academic research/teaching and government-related positions in Australia and the UK He continues to lead the conceptual development and implementation of the globally applicable Living Earth approach for consistent characterisation, mapping and monitoring of environments from spaceborne data and has provided significant contributions to the generation of global products including forest extent (with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)), woody above ground biomass (with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change initiative) and mangrove extent and change (the Global Mangrove Watch, with Wetlands International and The Nature Conservancy). At national to regional levels, he has developed innovative products on secondary forests vegetation structure and land cover (including in Amazonia, Africa, Australia, Wales), that have increased understanding of ecosystem states and dynamics and environmental change. He has contributed to policy and land management agendas and engaged in public understanding of Earth observation science and global environmental issues.
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Abstract
Living Earth is a novel approach to characterizing, mapping, monitoring, and planning landscapes, including underwater environments. Living Earth is based on globally applicable but locally relevant taxonomies, namely the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) and a Global Change Taxonomy (GCT) that builds on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. Maps of cover (land and water) are constructed from Environmental Descriptors (EDs) with pre-defined units or categories that are retrieved or classified primarily from Earth observation (EO) data. Habitat maps can be translated directly from these cover categories and through reference to contextual information (e.g., elevation, soil acidity). Evidence for change across all environments is gathered through comparison of selected EDs between time-separated periods and targets the 77 impact categories of the GCT. Each is then linked to relevant driving pressures (144 in total) to facilitate routine and consistent mapping of up to 246 ‘impact (pressure)’ categories. Validation of cover (land and water), habitats and change impacts and pressures can be achieved by referencing records submitted in the field using the Earthtrack mobile application, which uses the same taxonomies. The Response term of DPSIR supports the planning of future landscapes, and Living Earth facilitates visualization of land covers (including underwater components) proposed at selected time points (e.g., 2030, 2050) through use of the FAO LCCS and the simultaneous and/or or sequential pressures needed to achieve goals and ambitions. Through reference to EDs and past landscapes and change, consideration is given to risks, values and the realism of futures. The tutorial introduces the concepts behind Living Earth through short presentations and showcases practical application in selected countries through case implemented within Jupyter notebooks.
Keywords
land cover, habitats, change, futures.
Aims and Learning Objectives
To introduce the concepts behind Living Earth and the practicalities of implementation. The learning objectives are to allow attendees to i) extract relevant environmental descriptors from Earth observation data, ii) use these to construct classifications of cover (land and water), iii) automatically map change impacts and driving pressures, and iv) provide validation measures based on field observations obtained using the Earthtrack mobile application. The final objective is to show how the taxonomies used to characterise, map and monitor past landscapes can be directed towards future planning.
Target Audience
Policy makers, managers of land and water environments, academics and educators, students.
Prerequisite Knowledge of Audience
None required although some familiarity with running Jupyter notebooks is desirable.
Detailed Outline
The tutorial will run for six hours in total (1 day).
Morning:
Introduction to Living Earth - mapping environmental states (30 minutes)
The remainder of the session will then be a combination of short presentations (15 mins) followed by practicals undertaken using Jupyter notebooks).
Analysis Ready Data (ARD). An introduction to commonly used satellite sensor data (e.g., from the Sentinels, Landsat) and the requirement for ARD.
Environmental Descriptors (EDs). An overview of those that can be retrieved or classified from Earth observation data and how these fit in with the Food and Agriculture Organsation (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS).
Classification and visualisation of covers (land and water). A step-by-step guide to constructing cover maps from EDs with continuous units or categories and providing consistent cartography.
Translation to habitats. A demonstration of how cover maps can be translated to habitat categories and the relevance of contextual information.
Afternoon
Introduction to Living Earth - mapping the past and planning the future.
Change impacts. An illustration of how evidence is gathered for impacts listed in the Global Change Taxonomy.,
Driving Pressures: Insights into how the pressures causing the impacts can be captured and integrated to provide 'impact (pressure)' categories.
Futures: An overview of how the taxonomies of cover and change can be exploited to co-design future landscapes and plan the steps needed for fulfilment.
The Earthtrack mobile application: A walk through of how the Earthtrack mobile application is structured, how data on cover, habitats, change and futures can be captured and how these can be accessed.