The main research fields of the Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics Laboratory (LTDA) are the extraction of vegetation biophysical and biochemical parameters by means of multi-source hyperspectral or multispectral remotely sensed data for environmental applications at different spatial and temporal scales.

The main goal is to integrate the ecological parameters into ecosystem models for monitoring carbon cycle at regional scale and to detect plant status in forest ecosystems. The assimilation of the remote sensing information in the eco-physiological models is based on forcing or recalibration techniques.

The attention is focused on the estimation of Leaf Area Index (LAI), fraction of Absorbed Photosyntetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), vegetation Fractional cover (fC), Leaf and Canopy Water Content (EWT) and on the retrieval of photosynthetic pigments by means of hyperspectral aerial images (MIVIS, DAIS) or multispectral satellite images (LANDSAT TM, MODIS), and finally to retrieve the passive chlorophyll Fluorescence (F) by using high spectral resolution spectroradiometer.

The Lab is also involved in researches regarding the vegetation dynamics, in particular for the study of land-use changes and burnt areas by means of medium and high resolution remotely sensed imagery.