Our People

Dr Luke Smallman

Research Fellow – Terrestrial C-dynamics

EO Instrumentation and Facilities

Research interests

My research focuses on understanding how terrestrial ecosystems function, their current status and dynamics. Ecosystems are sensitive to weather, climate, and disturbance (e.g. fire and management), and their interactions. The response and feedbacks of ecosystems are mediated by their characteristics. Critical remaining knowledge gaps are on the magnitude of leaf photosynthetic capacity, the allocation of photosynthate to plant tissues, tissue turnover / mortality and decomposition rates. A robust understanding of ecosystem functioning is essential to understand the effects of our changing environment and human intervention to provide information for policy makers and land managers in support of informed decision making.

I address these knowledge gaps using state-of-the-art Bayesian model-data fusion software (CARDAMOM). CARDAMOM allows me to train intermediate-complexity models of terrestrial ecosystems with a diverse array of ground and satellite-based observation while fully accounting for the uncertainties inherent in these datasets. I primarily use the DALEC suite of terrestrial ecosystem models which offers a wide range of complexities which can be matched with the available observations, enhancing analysis rigor. CARDAMOM and DALEC are tools developed and maintained by NCEO.

Recent publications