STSM at WSL: Remote sensing of cascading climate impacts on beech forests

From 4 to 17 October 2026, I completed a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in Birmensdorf, Switzerland, hosted by Dr. Dominic Fawcett. The visit was supported by COST Action CA24163 CROSS-CASCADE and focused on improving methods for UAV-based hyperspectral assessment of European beech vitality and drought-related stress.

During the STSM, I worked on the processing workflow for UAV hyperspectral imagery acquired on two ICP Forests Level II monitoring plots in two biogeographical regions in Croatia and Slovenia, as well as on methods for extracting spectral information at tree level. The work helped refine the processing workflow and prepare the basis for linking hyperspectral information with physiological, meteorological and site observations.

The STSM provided valuable insights into state-of-the-art scientific approaches, knowledge exchange and practical solutions, and fostered closer cooperation between institutions. The visit strengthened links between the Croatian Forest Research Institute and WSL and created a basis for continued collaboration in hyperspectral remote sensing and forest monitoring.

This work contributes to understanding how climatic variability and climate extremes affect beech physiology, vitality and forest condition, and how these responses can be detected using remote sensing methods. It directly supports CROSS-CASCADE and WG1 objectives related to harmonised datasets, quality assurance and biophysical climate-impact assessment. The refined workflow will be applied to the wider set of available observations and will support further analyses and scientific publications.

I would like to thank Dr. Dominic Fawcett, Prof. Dr. Arthur Gessler, colleagues at WSL and Dr. Mirela Beloiu Schwenke from ETH Zürich for their generous support and valuable discussions, as well as COST Action CA24163 CROSS-CASCADE for supporting the STSM.