Landscape reclamation and ecosystem services

Supervisor: Ing. Olga Brovkina, CSc, Remote Sensing Department, Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno

The closure process of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill initiates a new phase of monitoring and management crucial for ensuring the effectiveness of closure measures. Closed MSW landfills have the potential to impact the environment through factors such as leachate seepage, gas emissions, and changes in land use. Remote sensing emerges as an advance tool to assess and monitor the closed landfill. The dissertation will explore and develop remote sensing methods that facilitate accurate and efficient monitoring, contributing to the sustainable management of closed MSW landfills and environmental protection.

The primary objective of this research is to utilize remote sensing satellite, airborne and UAV data and methods to analyze changes in land cover, vegetation health status, and spatial patterns over time at closed landfill sites. Specifically, optical and thermal remote sensing data will be used to identify changes in landfill surface features over time, validating the results through archival and new ground-truthing and field measurements.

The topic is multidisciplinary involving knowledge and methodologies from remote sensing and GIS, image analysis, environmental science, data processing, climate science and land use planning. The most of remote sensing data have been already acquired for two closed MSW landfills in South-Moravian region of the Czech Republic.

Téma: Sledování uzavřených skládek komunálního odpadu pomocí metod dálkového průzkumu Země

Školitel: Ing. Olga Brovkina, CSc, Oddělení dálkového průzkumu Země, Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR, Brno

Proces uzavírání skládek komunálního odpadu zahajuje novou fázi sledování a správy, klíčovou pro zajištění účinnosti uzavíracích opatření. Uzavřené skládky komunálního odpadu mohou ovlivnit životní prostředí prostřednictvím faktorů jako je prosakování látek, emise plynů a změny využívání půdy. Dálkový průzkum se stává pokročilým nástrojem pro hodnocení a sledování uzavřených skládek. Disertace bude zkoumat a rozvíjet metody dálkového průzkumu, které usnadní přesné a efektivní monitorování, přispívající k udržitelné správě uzavřených skládek komunálního odpadu a ochraně životního prostředí.

Hlavním cílem této výzkumné práce je využít satelitní, letecká a UAV data a metody dálkového průzkumu ke zkoumání změn typu pokryvu a stavu zdraví vegetace v prostoru a čase na uzavřených skládkách. Konkrétně budou využívána optická a termální data dálkového průzkumu, výsledky budou ověřovány pomocí archivních a nových terénních měření.

Téma je multidisciplinární, zahrnující znalosti a metodologie z oblasti dálkového průzkumu a GIS, analýzy obrazu, environmentální vědy, zpracování dat, vědy o klimatu a územního plánování. Většina dat dálkového průzkumu byla již získána pro dvě uzavřené skládky komunálního odpadu v jihomoravském kraji České republiky.

Supervisor:  Dr. Kateřina Macháčová, Department of Ecosystem Trace Gas Exchange, Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno

Methane (CH₄) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) contributing to global climate change. Soils are well-known as substantial sources and sinks of this gas. Besides soils, woody plants can also emit or take up CH₄ under certain conditions. They can significantly contribute to the ecosystem CH₄ exchange and may thus represent a missing source or sink in the GHG balance of forest ecosystems. However, the role of trees in forest CH₄ exchange is still not well understood. Therefore, the objective of the interdisciplinary PhD studies connecting plant physiology with soil and atmospheric sciences and microbiology is to characterise and quantify CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂, indicator of physiological activity) fluxes in different tree species and soils in various ecosystem types. The dynamics of fluxes will be studied using static chamber systems in combination with exact quantification of CH₄ and CO₂ concentration changes using gas chromatographic and/or spectroscopic analyses. The study of spatial heterogeneity and diurnal and seasonal changes of fluxes will enable to quantify the CH₄ exchange between the ecosystems and the atmosphere and to estimate the annual tree fluxes. The PhD thesis will further focus on study of flux mechanisms and related processes in the soil-tree-atmosphere continuum, considering as well further possible players in ecosystem CH₄ exchange (e.g. cryptogams). The interactions between CH₄ fluxes and physiological activity of ecosystems and environmental parameters (temperature, moisture, radiation, etc.) will be determined. Participation in manipulation experiments investigating the effects of global change drivers on GHG exchange of ecosystems will be an integral part of the PhD studies. The results of the PhD thesis will be crucial for future estimation of ecosystem CH₄ budgets and inventories of GHG fluxes.

The research will be performed at the Global Change Research Institute CAS (CzechGlobe, http://www.czechglobe.cz/en/) in Brno, Czech Republic, under supervision of Dr. Kateřina Macháčová and in close cooperation with the J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. Realisation of intensive measurement campaigns under field conditions is an integral part of this research. Active participation of students in conferences and workshops is expected. 

Introduction literature:

Covey KR, Megonigal JP. 2019. Methane production and emissions in trees and forests. New Phytologist 222: 35–51, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15624.

Machacova K, Warlo H, Svobodová K, Agyei T, Uchytilová T, Horáček P, Lang F. 2023. Methane emission from stems of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) offsets as much as half of methane oxidation in soil. New Phytologist 238: 584–597, DOI: 10.1111/nph.18726.

Barba J, Brewer PE, Pangala SR, Machacova K. 2024. Methane emissions from tree stems – current knowledge and challenges: an introduction to a Virtual Issue. New Phytologist 241: 1377–1380, http://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19512.

Supervisor: Dr. Kateřina Macháčová , Department of Ecosystem Trace Gas Exchange, Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) contributing to global climate change. Soils are well-known as sources and sinks of this gas. Besides soils, woody plants can also emit N₂O. However, the studies on tree N₂O fluxes are still very scarce. Moreover, the ongoing research has revealed that trees can also absorb N₂O from the atmosphere. The absorption mechanism is not clear. The objective of the interdisciplinary PhD studies connecting plant physiology with soil and atmospheric sciences and microbiology is to characterise and quantify N₂O and carbon dioxide (CO₂, indicator of physiological activity) fluxes in different tree species and soils in various ecosystem types. The dynamics of fluxes will be studied using static chamber systems in combination with exact quantification of N₂O and CO₂ concentration changes using gas chromatographic and/or spectroscopic analyses. The study of spatial heterogeneity and diurnal and seasonal changes of fluxes will enable to quantify the N₂O exchange between the ecosystems and the atmosphere and to estimate the annual tree fluxes. The PhD thesis will further focus on understanding of flux mechanisms and related processes in the soil-tree-atmosphere continuum under consideration of also other possible co-players in the ecosystem N₂O exchange (e.g. cryptogams). The interactions between N₂O fluxes and physiological activity of ecosystems and environmental parameters (temperature, moisture, radiation, etc.) will be determined. Participation in manipulation experiments investigating the effects of global change drivers on GHG exchange of ecosystems will be an integral part of the PhD studies. The results of the PhD thesis will be crucial for future estimation of ecosystem N₂O budgets and inventories of GHG fluxes.

The research will be performed at the Global Change Research Institute CAS (CzechGlobe, http://www.czechglobe.cz/en/) in Brno, Czech Republic, under supervision of Dr. Kateřina Macháčová and in close cooperation with the J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. Realisation of intensive measurement campaigns under field conditions is an integral part of this research. Active participation of students in conferences and workshops is expected. 

Introduction literature:

Machacova K, Vainio E, Urban O, Pihlatie M (2019) Seasonal dynamics of stem N₂O exchange follow the physiological activity of boreal trees. Nature Communications 10: 4989, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12976-y.

Machacova K, Borak L, Agyei T, Schindler T, Soosaar K, Mander Ü, Ah-Peng C (2021) Trees as net sinks for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the lowland tropical rain forest on volcanic Réunion Island. New Phytologist 229: 1983–1994,  DOI:10.1111/nph.17002. 

Mander Ü, Krasnova A, Escuer-Gatius J, Espenberg M, Schindler T, Machacova K, Pärn J, Maddison M, Megonigal JP, Pihlatie M, Kasak K, Niinemets Ü, Junninen H, Soosaar K (2021) Forest canopy mitigates soil N₂O emission during hot moments. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 4: 39, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-021-00194-7.

• Annual Evaluation of the Individual Study Plan of a Doctoral Programme in the Academic Year
• Individual Study Plan of a Doctoral Programme – Framework layout of the study for the expected period of education
• Individual Study Plan of a Doctoral Programme – A detail study plan for the academic year
• Application for the State Doctoral Examination
• Consent with exam during study vacation period
• Proposal for the provision of a scholarship from the Student Grant Competition project (SGS)
• Proposal for the provision of a scholarship from the Student Grant Competition project (SGS) – bulk

• Study and Examination Rules for Doctoral Study Programmes
• Scholarship Regulations of Jan Evagelisty Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
• Disciplinary Code of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
• Dean’s directive no. 2/2023 – Organisation of studies in the joint doctoral study programme of the Faculty of Environment of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University and the Institute for Global Change Research of the Czech Academy of Sciences v.v.i. (CzechGlobe).
• Dean’s directive no. 1/2023 – Jednací řád oborové rady doktorského studijního programu Landscape reclamation and ecosystem services
• Dean’s directive no. 3/2023 – Jmenování Oborové rady pro studijní program Landscape reclamation and ecosystem services
• Příkaz děkana č. X/2025 – Komise pro přijímací řízení do doktorského studia pro studijní program Landscape reclamation and ecosystem services