Publications

We are very active in publishing our work.

Selected Studies

High-resolution sensors and deep learning models for tree resource monitoring

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering, 2025

We summarized our experiences gained over the past years.

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A strong but uneven increase in urban tree cover in China over the recent decade

Nature Cities, 2025

We used RapidEye and PlanetScope to study tree cover changes over hundreds of cities in China over 2010-2019.

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Severe decline in large farmland trees in India over recent decade

Nature Sustainability, 2024

We tracked 0.6 billion large trees from 2010 to 2022 and found that many disappeared.

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Mapping every adult baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) across the Sahel and relationships to rural livelihoods

Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2024

We mapped 2.8 million baobab trees across the Sahel.

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Global area boom of greenhouse cultivation revealed by satellites

Nature Food, 2024

We took stock of global greenhouse cultivation areas using PlanetScope data.

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Trees on smallholder farms and forest restoration are critical for Rwanda to achieve net zero emissions

Communications Earth & Environment, 2024

Tree-level carbon stock dynamics used for policy recommendations.

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The overlooked contribution of trees outside forests to tree cover and woody biomass across Europe

Science Advances, 2023

We used PlanetScope to map tree height and biomass at 3 m for all Europe.

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Sub-continental-scale carbon stocks of individual trees in African drylands

Nature, 2023

15 billion trees and their biomass were mapped.

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Nation-wide mapping of tree-level aboveground carbon stocks in Rwanda

Nature Climate Change, 2023

Tree-level biomass for all overstory trees in Rwanda.

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Deep learning enables image-based tree counting, crown segmentation, and height prediction at national scale

PNAS Nexus, 2023

Advanced and open access deep learning framework.

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An unexpectedly large count of trees in the West African Sahara and Sahel

Nature, 2020

First large scale mapping of individual trees. Selected as top 10 finding by Nature in 2020.

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More than one quarter of Africa’s tree cover is found outside areas previously classified as forest

Nature Communications, 2023

First PlanetScope based tree segmentation map at continental scale.

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Forest management in southern China generates short term extensive carbon sequestration

Nature Communications, 2020

Forestation in China offsets a considerable amount of the CO2 emissions but tree growth is limited by natural factors.

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Increased vegetation growth and carbon stock in China karst via ecological engineering

Nature Sustainability, 2018

Impressive increase in tree cover in South China Karst since 2000.

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Human population growth offsets climate-driven increase in woody vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa

Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017

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Carbon loss from forest degradation exceeds that from deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Nature Climate Change, 2021

L-VOD based assessment of biomass losses in the Amazon not limited to forest clear-cuts.

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Satellite passive microwaves reveal recent climate-induced carbon losses in African drylands

Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2018

First application of low frequency passive microwaves (L-VOD) to map biomass dynamics.

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