Mapping species diversity along the climatic gradient in Israel
Research team: Arnon Karnieli and Tarin Paz-Kagan, Postdoctoral: Jisung Chann
Israel is rich in ecosystems, species, and genetic biodiversity. This great diversity derives from Israel's location at the crossroads of bio-geographical regions, with typical climatic conditions, varied topography, geomorphologic structure, rock, and soil types providing a variety of habitats, each with its own typical fauna and flora. Thus, it is essential to map patterns of forest species composition, and forest functional diversity, in order to understand better how these properties respond to variation in water availability, climate, and enveromantal variation. Our studies are being conducted at ranging scales from individual trees to the landscape scale, with the intention of identifying forests that are likely to be resilient to future climate change. In this research, we are mapping species composition along a 43 km climatic gradient from the Mediterranean to the semi-arid area in Israel, using state-of-the-art imaging spectroscopy. For doing so, we develop and apply modern AI statistical techniques.
