Leading the way in ecosystem resilience

Global Ecosystem Health Observatory studies the condition of ecosystems to increase ecosystem resilience in a changing climate.

The Global Ecosystem Health Observatory (GEHO) is an interdisciplinary research team aiming to increase understanding of the current and future state of the world’s ecosystems. The present research focuses on forests, including developing remote sensing algorithms for monitoring forest health, mapping global tree mortality and modelling the climate risks to forests. Our work aims to increase ecosystems’ resilience under climate change by providing knowledge and tools that help various stakeholders in ecosystem management. The GEHO team is hosted by the University of Eastern Finland and is led by Associate Professor Samuli Junttila.

Forests under pressure

Forests are crucial in maintaining global biodiversity, regulating climate, and supporting water cycles. However, extensive deforestation, forest degradation from timber harvesting and land-use changes, primarily for agriculture and urban development, have significantly impacted this boundary. A third of global forest cover has already been lost due to human activities, and climate change is increasing the pressure on forests due to increasing drought, fire, pest outbreaks and storms. Forests play a significant role in storing terrestrial carbon, but increasing stress and tree mortality can turn forests from carbon sinks to sources. Our EU-funded project, DRYTREE, aims to improve our understanding of the climate risks on forests and provide management solutions to increase forest resilience.

Interdisciplinary solutions to real-world problems

We believe that interdisciplinary approaches are needed to tackle current major environmental challenges. We recognise that environmental issues are complex and multifaceted, often requiring input from diverse disciplines. Therefore, we combine different research fields, such as ecology, remote sensing, computer science, ecophysiology and entomology, to study ecosystem health. A holistic perspective is crucial for tackling the complex and interconnected challenges facing our planet.

Research Team

GEHO would not exist without its members. Our research team consists of researchers with diverse backgrounds in different disciplines. We have experts in forest ecology, remote sensing, forest entomology, computer science, ecophysiology, and quantitative ecology. A common nominator among us is the interest in solving ecological challenges that we face in a warming climate.