Measuring resilience and early warning signals of critical slowdown in forest and grassland habitats using time-series satellite data

Forest health and survival is of major concern globally in the face of increasing climate change disturbance. Drought has been identified as one of the biggest risks to trees and forests in the UK; and a decline in biodiversity could also reduce the resilience of woodlands to changes in climate. Protecting forest systems requires a better understanding of what drives resilience and how climate change will impact system dynamics. These complex systems are difficult to measure through time as field surveys can only capture snapshots of dynamic systems. This research will investigate the drivers of reduced resilience using time-series satellite data, with the overall aim to identify forests at risk early enough to enable adaptation management.