Research

Analysis of the development of groundwater recharge and available groundwater resources in the reference period 3rd to 4th NGP (National Water Management Plan) for near-surface groundwater bodies: Review and, if necessary, update of groundwater recharge and groundwater resources based on the BML study “Austria's Water Resources.” This is done by comparing relevant data from the time series 1998–2017 and 2004–2023. The findings obtained in the course of the analysis are to be incorporated into the draft for the 4th NGP. Furthermore, scenarios for groundwater recharge and available groundwater resources are being developed as part of adaptation strategies to climate change for Austrian water management. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

IGNOS aims to evaluate the potential and limitations of GNSS-R as a scalable, all-weather complementary solution for Leaf Area Index (LAI) estimation. It is particularly important because of the urgent need for consistent observations in tropical areas where Copernicus Sentinel-2 optical satellites encounter significant challenges. By analyzing the relationship between GNSS-R data with Sentinel-2 imagery, IGNOS assesses the potential of the GNSS-R technique to become a complementary technique to Sentinel-2, enhancing vegetation monitoring in cloud-prone regions without additional sensor deployment, thus offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy. The outcome of this project therefore should evaluate the capabilities for a continuous LAI observation under cloudy conditions, leading to better-informed decisions in sustainable forestry, agriculture, and ecosystem management. The improved LAI data will primarily benefit Earth Observation users (e.g., remote sensing experts working in ecosystem yodelling) and agricultural communities (e.g., farmers and land managers) by enabling precision agriculture and biodiversity monitoring.

This research project is carried out in collaboration with the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. The research focuses on evaluating sustainable nutrient management on alpine pastures through site-specific management strategies. These results will inform the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein's contributions to the Alpine Pasture Evaluation Study (APES), which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Regions and Water Management (BML). BOKU is involved in two work packages related to remote sensing and geospatial analysis for yield estimation and change detection in pasture spatial structures.