AI4EBVs

AI4EBVs is a three-year project funded by the 1^st GEO BON – Microsoft joint call: EBVs on the cloud. EURAC Research is leading the project consortium, whose team members have been working since the mid-2000s to contribute to and to establish GEO MOUNTAINS, focusing on mountain regions worldwide: EURAC Research, the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), and the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Research Council of Italy (ISAC-CNR). 

 AI4EBVs has been designed to support the Group on Earth Observations Global Network for Observing Mountain Environments (GEO MOUNTAINS) in mapping the Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) ecosystem extent and ecosystem fragmentation. We use artificial intelligence (AI) to validate and downscale a broad-scale global mountain ecosystem map by exploiting the advanced feature extraction capabilities provided by AI-based algorithms and the computational potential of cloud based-platforms to derive accurate, high-resolution maps of mountain ecosystem extents. We produce these maps through time to enable a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem change and fragmentation.

 The following outputs are envisaged:

- High-resolution maps of mountain ecosystem extents through time, thereby enabling assessments of ecosystem change and fragmentation

- A set of transferable cloud-based, AI-derived analyses for producing accurate and high-resolution maps which can be applied elsewhere.

EURAC is responsible for the conceptual work and the technical implementation of the approaches. The project supports biodiversity research and the further development of AI and Earth Observation data in cloud platforms.

Contact person: Ruth Sonnenschein

Email: ruth.sonnenschein@eurac.edu