Dr. Rico Fischer
Contact
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Leipzig
Department of Ecological Modelling
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig
Germany
Buildung 1.0, Room 202 Map
Tel.: +49 341 235 - 48 2267
Fax: +49 341 235 - 45 2267
rico.fischer@ufz.de
0000-0002-0482-0095Research Interests
Expert in Remote Sensing and Forest Modelling
- Carbon cycle and disturbances in forest ecosystems
- The impact of fire, climate change and land use change on ecosystem services
- Tropical forest fragmentation and their consequences
- The impacts of extreme events for forests in Germany. Phd College MOMENT
- Exploring multifunctional landscapes in a model-based framework: model interfaces and scaling issues. PhD College LISA
- Linking remote sensing and ecological modelling
Projects
Forest Modeling
The forest gap model FORMIND is an individual-based vegetation model that simulates the growth of forests on the hectare scale. It allows to explore forest dynamics and forest structure including also processes like gap building (falling down of large trees).
Simulating the carbon stocks and fluxes of tropical and temperate forests in a changing world
Analyzing the carbon fluxes of a tropical forest in Tansania, Africa. We simulated biomass dynamics, forest productivity and carbon fluxes for a sub-montane forest at Mt. Kilimanjaro.
We simulated with FORMIND the daily carbon fluxes for the forest site Hohes Holz in Germany, examining the influence of individual species and tree sizes on these fluxes.
Simulating the dynamics of lowland tropical forest in a changing world. Analyzing the impact of drought and logging on rainforest structure and dynamics.
Evaluating the impact of fire and selective logging on forest dynamics
FORMIND was extended by a fire module, which was used to investigate how long a tropical forest in Africa needs to recover after a fire event. Depending on which forest variable is considered, it is more than 100 years.
Analyzing the mid- and long-term impacts of different management intensities on the dynamic and structure of a species-rich tropical lowland forest of French Guiana. High selective logging intensities prolong the recovery times of ecosystem functions such as biomass and productivity.
A multi-scaled analysis of forest structure and sampling strategies
Consideration of scale is essential when examining structural relationships in forests. Sampling strategy also plays a critical role in estimating forest characteristics. The scale as well as the sampling are crucial to correctly assess biomass in forests.
Publication: An analysis of forest biomass sampling strategies across scales.
Remote Sensing
Emissions from the edge of the forest: global forest fragmentation
Deforestation has a fatal effect on the remaining forest fragments. The vegetation at the edges is exposed to an unfavorable microclimate: Direct sunlight and higher wind speeds cause these areas to dry out more quickly and tree mortality increases. We analyzed the state and dynamics of tropical forest fragmentation and its impact on the global carbon cycle using high-resolution remote sensing data. We found that fragmentation is accelerating with serve consequences for the global carbon cycle.
Publication: Global patterns of tropical forest fragmentation
Press release: Forest edges in the tropics increase carbon emissions
Estimating forest structure from remote sensing
We investigated the potential of lidar and radar data to monitor forest biomass and forest structure and its temporal variations. Forest structure identification can be used to distinguish between different forest stages and different types induced by logging, natural disturbance, or forest management.
Publication: Remote Sensing Measurements of Forest Structure Types for Ecosystem Service Mapping
Publication: Monitoring of Forest Structure Dynamics by Means of L-Band SAR Tomography
Linking Remote Sensing with Ecological Modeling
An innovative research field is the combination of individual-based vegetation models with the latest remote sensing technology. For this purpose, the high degree of detail of the models in combination with the full-coverage measurement of the earth is used to determine the different ecosystem functions.
Estimating forest biomass and carbon fluxes from remote sensing
Forest models can help to better interpret remote sensing data. The linkage of models with remote sensing (e.g., lidar) allow to develop robust relationships between remote sensing metrics and forest variables like biomass. This can be done for local studies as well as for whole continents. Integrating more than 100 million GEDI measurements (see https://gedi.umd.edu/) into the forest model FORMIND, we have mapped forest productivity throughout the Amazon.
Publication: Mapping Amazon forest productivity by fusing GEDI lidar waveforms with an individual-based forest model
Publication: Linking lidar and forest modeling to assess biomass estimation across scales and disturbance states
The role of forest structure for biomass and productivity
Future remote sensing missions will have the capability to provide information on forest structure (e.g., from lidar or radar). By linking remote sensing techniques with vegetation modelling, the role of forest structure for ecosystem services of forests can be investigated. This will lead to more accurate assessments of forest biomass and productivity around the globe.
Science in the News
Forest Fragmentation in the Tropics
press release, 06. September 2021
Forest edges in the tropics increase carbon emissions
Press release, 14. February 2018
Deforestation and Fragmentation in the tropics.
Press release, 30. March 2017
Emissions from the edge of the forest.
Fires and Deforestation in the Amazon
Spiegel, November 2022
"Ist der Amazonas-Regenwald noch zu retten?"
Spiegel, November 2022
"Waldschutzinitiative auf der Klimakonferenz - Einfach nur Geld zu verteilen, reicht nicht"
Federal Ministry of Education and Research, August 2019
"Regenwälder sind mehr in Gefahr als je zuvor"
ZDF, August 2019
Verheerende Brände weltweit - Zündquelle Mensch.
Spiegel Online, August 2019
"Der Regenwald braucht mindestens hundert Jahre, um sich zu erholen"
Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Oktober 2019
#Fragen4Future Amazonas Abholzung?
Press release, November 2019
The forests of the Amazon are an important carbon sink.
Klimawald 2.0, July 2020, Bayerische Staatsforsten
„Der Amazonas könnte von einer Kohlenstoffsenke zur -quelle werden.“
Zoo Leipzig and Visualization of Forests
Zoo Live, August 2012
Baummessung in Gondwanaland (page 10).
Spiegel TV, 24. May 2012
Virtueller Waldspaziergang: In 3D durch Sachsens Tropen.
Press release, 28. June 2011
Gondwanaland hilft Wissenschaftlern, Waldmodelle zu verbessern.
Miscellaneous
Resonator - Der Forschungspodcast der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, 25. Oktober 2019
UFZ-Newsletter, February 2014
2022 (3)
- Bahrami, B., Hildebrandt, A., Thober, S., Rebmann, C., Fischer, R., Samaniego, L., Rakovec, O., Kumar, R. (2022):
Developing a parsimonious canopy model (PCM v1.0) to predict forest gross primary productivity and leaf area index of deciduous broad-leaved forest
Geosci. Model Dev. 15 (18), 6957 - 6984
full text (doi) - Duncanson, L., Kellner, J.R., Armston, J., Dubayah, R., Minor, D.M., Hancock, S., Healey, S.P., Patterson, P.L., Saarela, S., Marselis, S., Silva, C.E., Bruening, J., Goetz, S.J., Tang, H., Hofton, M., Blair, B., Luthcke, S., Fatoyinbo, L., Abernethy, K., Alonso, A., Andersen, H.-E., Aplin, P., Baker, T.R., Barbier, N., Bastin, J.F., Biber, P., Boeckx, P., Bogaert, J., Boschetti, L., Brehm Boucher, P., Boyd, D.S., Burslem, D.F.R.P., Calvo-Rodriguez, S., Chave, J., Chazdon, R.L., Clark, D.B., Clark, D.A., Cohen, W.B., Coomes, D.A., Corona, P., Cushman, K.C., Cutler, M.E.J., Dalling, J.W., Dalponte, M., Dash, J., de-Miguel, S., Deng, S., Woods Ellis, P., Erasmus, B., Fekety, P.A., Fernandez-Landa, A., Ferraz, A., Fischer, R., Fisher, A.G., García-Abril, A., Gobakken, T., Hacker, J.M., Heurich, M., Hill, R.A., Hopkinson, C., Huang, H., Hubbell, S.P., Hudak, A.T., Huth, A., Imbach, B., Jeffery, K.J., Katoh, M., Kearsley, E., Kenfack, D., Kljun, N., Knapp, N., Král, K., Krůček, M., Labrière, N., Lewis, S.L., Longo, M., Lucas, R.M., Main, R., Manzanera, J.A., Vásquez Martínez, R., Mathieu, R., Memiaghe, H., Meyer, V., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Monerris, A., Montesano, P., Morsdorf, F., Næsset, E., Naidoo, L., Nilus, R., O’Brien, M., Orwig, D.A., Papathanassiou, K., Parker, G., Philipson, C., Phillips, O.L., Pisek, J., Poulsen, J.R., Pretzsch, H., Rüdiger, C., Saatchi, S., Sanchez-Azofeifa, A., Sanchez-Lopez, N., Scholes, R., Silva, C.A., Simard, M., Skidmore, A., Stereńczak, K., Tanase, M., Torresan, C., Valbuena, R., Verbeeck, H., Vrska, T., Wessels, K., White, J.C., White, L.J.T., Zahabu, E., Zgraggen, C. (2022):
Aboveground biomass density models for NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar mission
Remote Sens. Environ. 270 , art. 112845
full text (doi) - Hiltner, U., Huth, A., Fischer, R. (2022):
Importance of the forest state in estimating biomass losses from tropical forests: combining dynamic forest models and remote sensing
Biogeosciences 19 (7), 1891 - 1911
full text (doi)
2021 (12)
- Bauer, L., Knapp, N., Fischer, R. (2021):
Mapping Amazon forest productivity by fusing GEDI lidar waveforms with an individual-based forest model
Remote Sens. 13 (22), art. 4540
full text (doi) - Bruening, J.M., Fischer, R., Bohn, F.J., Armston, J., Armstrong, A.H., Knapp, N., Tang, H., Huth, A., Dubayah, R. (2021):
Challenges to aboveground biomass prediction from waveform lidar
Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (12), art. 125013
full text (doi) - Fischer, R. (2021):
The long-term consequences of forest fires on the carbon fluxes of a tropical forest in Africa
Appl. Sci. 11 (10), art. 4696
full text (doi) - Fischer, R., Taubert, F., Müller, M.S., Groeneveld, J., Lehmann, S., Wiegand, T., Huth, A. (2021):
Accelerated forest fragmentation leads to critical increase in tropical forest edge area
Sci. Adv. 7 (37), eabg7012
full text (doi) - Hiltner, U., Huth, A., Hérault, B., Holtmann, A., Bräuning, A., Fischer, R. (2021):
Climate change alters the ability of neotropical forests to provide timber and sequester carbon
For. Ecol. Manage. 492 , art. 119166
full text (doi) - Holtmann, A., Huth, A., Pohl, F., Rebmann, C., Fischer, R. (2021):
Carbon sequestration in mixed deciduous forests: The importance of mid-storey trees for forest productivity
EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021
EGUsphere
Copernicus Publications, p. EGU21-7228
full text (doi) - Holtmann, A., Huth, A., Pohl, F., Rebmann, C., Fischer, R. (2021):
Carbon sequestration in mixed deciduous forests: the influence of tree size and species composition derived from model experiments
Forests 12 (6), art. 726
full text (doi) - Knapp, N., Huth, A., Fischer, R. (2021):
Tree crowns cause border effects in area-based biomass estimations from remote sensing
Remote Sens. 13 (8), art. 1592
full text (doi) - Maciel, E.A., Martins, V.F., Dantas de Paula, M., Huth, A., Guilherme, F.A.G., Fischer, R., Giles, A., Barbosa, R.I., Cavassan, O., Martins, F.R. (2021):
Defaunation and changes in climate and fire frequency have synergistic effects on aboveground biomass loss in the Brazilian savanna
Ecol. Model. 454 , art. 109628
full text (doi) - Maréchaux, I., Langerwisch, F., Huth, A., Bugmann, H., Morin, X., Reyer, C.P.O., Seidl, R., Collalti, A., Dantas de Paula, M., Fischer, R., Gutsch, M., Lexer, M.J., Lischke, H., Rammig, A., Rödig, E., Sakschewski, B., Taubert, F., Thonicke, K., Vacchiano, G., Bohn, F.J. (2021):
Tackling unresolved questions in forest ecology: The past and future role of simulation models
Ecol. Evol. 11 (9), 3746 - 3770
full text (doi) - Ribeiro, N.S., Hildt Armstrong, A., Fischer, R., Kim, Y.-S., Shugart, H.H., Ribeiro-Barros, A.I., Chauque, A., Tear, T., Washington-Allen, R., Bandeira, R.R. (2021):
Prediction of forest parameters and carbon accounting under different fire regimes in Miombo woodlands, Niassa Special Reserve, Northern Mozambique
Forest Policy Econ. 133 , art. 102625
full text (doi) - Taubert, F., Fischer, R., Knapp, N., Huth, A. (2021):
Deriving tree size distributions of tropical forests from lidar
Remote Sens. 13 (1), art. 131
full text (doi)
2020 (4)
- Armstrong, A.H., Huth, A., Osmanoglu, B., Sun, G., Ranson, K.J., Fischer, R. (2020):
A multi-scaled analysis of forest structure using individual-based modeling in a costa rican rainforest
Ecol. Model. 433 , art. 109226
full text (doi) - di Porcia e Brugnera, M., Fischer, R., Taubert, F., Huth, A., Verbeeck, H. (2020):
Lianas in silico, ecological insights from a model of structural parasitism
Ecol. Model. 431 , art. 109159
full text (doi) - Hetzer, J., Huth, A., Wiegand, T., Dobner, H.-J., Fischer, R. (2020):
An analysis of forest biomass sampling strategies across scales
Biogeosciences 17 (6), 1673 - 1683
full text (doi) - Knapp, N., Fischer, R., Cazcarra-Bes, V., Huth, A. (2020):
Structure metrics to generalize biomass estimation from lidar across forest types from different continents
Remote Sens. Environ. 237 , art. 111597
full text (doi)
2019 (5)
- Andronache, I., Marin, M., Fischer, R., Ahammer, H., Radulovic, M., Ciobotaru, A.-M., Jelinek, H.F., Di Ieva, A., Pintilii, R.-D., Drăghici, C.-C., Herman, G.V., Nicula, A.-S., Simion, A.-G., Loghin, I.-V., Diaconu, D.-C., Peptenatu, D. (2019):
Dynamics of forest fragmentation and connectivity using particle and fractal analysis
Sci. Rep. 9 , art. 12228
full text (doi) - Exbrayat, J.-F., Bloom, A.A., Carvalhais, N., Fischer, R., Huth, A., MacBean, N., Williams, M. (2019):
Understanding the land carbon cycle with space data: Current status and prospects
Surv. Geophys. 40 (4), 735 - 755
full text (doi) - Fischer, R., Knapp, N., Bohn, F., Huth, A. (2019):
Remote sensing measurements of forest structure types for ecosystem service mapping
In: Schröter, M., Bonn, A., Klotz, S., Seppelt, R., Baessler, C. (eds.)
Atlas of ecosystem services : drivers, risks, and societal responses
Springer International Publishing, Cham, p. 63 - 67
full text (doi) - Fischer, R., Knapp, N., Bohn, F., Shugart, H.H., Huth, A. (2019):
The relevance of forest structure for biomass and productivity in temperate forests: New perspectives for remote sensing
Surv. Geophys. 40 (4), 709 - 734
full text (doi) - Rödig, E., Knapp, N., Fischer, R., Bohn, F.J., Dubayah, R., Tang, H., Huth, A. (2019):
From small-scale forest structure to Amazon-wide carbon estimates
Nat. Commun. 10 , art. 5088
full text (doi)
2018 (10)
- Armstrong, A., Fischer, R., Huth, A., Shugart, H., Fatoyinbo, T. (2018):
Simulating forest dynamics of lowland rainforests in Eastern Madagascar
Forests 9 (4), art. 214
full text (doi) - Dantas de Paula, M., Groeneveld, J., Fischer, R., Taubert, F., Martins, V.F., Huth, A. (2018):
Defaunation impacts on seed survival and its effect on the biomass of future tropical forests
Oikos 127 (10), 1526 - 1538
full text (doi) - Fischer, R., Rödig, E., Huth, A. (2018):
Consequences of a reduced number of plant functional types for the simulation of forest productivity
Forests 9 (8), art. 460
full text (doi) - Hiltner, U., Huth, A., Bräuning, A., Hérault, B., Fischer, R. (2018):
Simulation of succession in a neotropical forest: High selective logging intensities prolong the recovery times of ecosystem functions
For. Ecol. Manage. 430 , 517 - 525
full text (doi) - Knapp, N., Fischer, R., Huth, A. (2018):
Linking lidar and forest modeling to assess biomass estimation across scales and disturbance states
Remote Sens. Environ. 205 , 199 - 209
full text (doi) - Knapp, N., Huth, A., Kugler, F., Papathanassiou, K., Condit, R., Hubbell, S.P., Fischer, R. (2018):
Model-assisted estimation of tropical forest biomass change: a comparison of approaches
Remote Sens. 10 (5), art. 731
full text (doi) - Rödig, E., Cuntz, M., Rammig, A., Fischer, R., Taubert, F., Huth, A. (2018):
The importance of forest structure for carbon fluxes of the Amazon rainforest
Environ. Res. Lett. 13 (5), art. 054013
full text (doi) - Shugart, H.H., Wang, B., Fischer, R., Ma, J., Fang, J., Yan, X., Huth, A., Armstrong, A.H. (2018):
Gap models and their individual-based relatives in the assessment of the consequences of global change
Environ. Res. Lett. 13 (3), art. 033001
full text (doi) - Taubert, F., Fischer, R., Groeneveld, J., Lehmann, S., Müller, M.S., Rödig, E., Wiegand, T., Huth, A. (2018):
Global patterns of tropical forest fragmentation
Nature 554 (7693), 519 - 522
full text (doi) - Tello, M., Cazcarra-Bes, V., Fischer, R., Papathanassiou, K. (2018):
Multiscale forest structure estimation from SAR tomography
Electronic Proceedings EUSAR 2018; 12th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, 04-07 June, 2018, Aachen, Germany
VDE-Verlag, Berlin ; Offenbach, p. 600 - 603
full text (url)
2017 (4)
- Brinck, K., Fischer, R., Groeneveld, J., Lehmann, S., Dantas de Paula, M., Pütz, S., Sexton, J.O., Song, D., Huth, A. (2017):
High resolution analysis of tropical forest fragmentation and its impact on the global carbon cycle
Nat. Commun. 8 , art. 14855
full text (doi) - Cazcarra-Bes, V., Tello-Alonso, M., Fischer, R., Heym, M., Papathanassiou, K. (2017):
Monitoring of forest structure dynamics by means of L-band SAR tomography
Remote Sens. 9 (12), art. 1229
full text (doi) - Getzin, S., Fischer, R., Knapp, N., Huth, A. (2017):
Using airborne LiDAR to assess spatial heterogeneity in forest structure on Mount Kilimanjaro
Landsc. Ecol. 32 (9), 1881 - 1894
full text (doi) - Paulick, S., Dislich, C., Homeier, J., Fischer, R., Huth, A. (2017):
The carbon fluxes in different successional stages: modelling the dynamics of tropical montane forests in South Ecuador
For. Ecosyst. 4 , art. 5
full text (doi)
2016 (3)
- Fischer, R., Bohn, F., Dantas de Paula, M., Dislich, C., Groeneveld, J., Gutiérrez, A.G., Kazmierczak, M., Knapp, N., Lehmann, S., Paulick, S., Pütz, S., Rödig, E., Taubert, F., Köhler, P., Huth, A. (2016):
Lessons learned from applying a forest gap model to understand ecosystem and carbon dynamics of complex tropical forests
Ecol. Model. 326 , 124 - 133
full text (doi) - Hiltner, U., Bräuning, A., Gebrekirstos, A., Huth, A., Fischer, R. (2016):
Impacts of precipitation variability on the dynamics of a dry tropical montane forest
Ecol. Model. 320 , 92 - 101
full text (doi) - Kazmierczak, M., Backmann, P., Fedriani, J.M., Fischer, R., Hartmann, A.K., Huth, A., May, F., Müller, M.S., Taubert, F., Grimm, V., Groeneveld, J. (2016):
Monodominance in tropical forests: modelling reveals emerging clusters and phase transitions
J. R. Soc. Interface 13 (117), art. 0123
full text (doi)
2015 (2)
- Fischer, R., Ensslin, A., Rutten, G., Fischer, M., Schellenberger Costa, D., Kleyer, M., Hemp, A., Paulick, S., Huth, A. (2015):
Simulating carbon stocks and fluxes of an African tropical montane forest with an individual-based forest model
PLOS One 10 (4), e0123300
full text (doi) - Shugart, H.H., Asner, G.P., Fischer, R., Huth, A., Knapp, N., Le Toan, T., Shuman, J.K. (2015):
Computer and remote-sensing infrastructure to enhance large-scale testing of individual-based forest models
Front. Ecol. Environ. 13 (9), 503 - 511
full text (doi)
2014 (3)
- Fischer, R. (2014):
Modellierung der Dynamik afrikanischer Tropenwälder. Analyse des Einflusses von Störungen auf tropische Wälder mit Hilfe des Waldmodells FORMIND
Dissertation, Universität Osnabrück
PhD Dissertation 4/2014
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ, Leipzig, 187 S. - Fischer, R., Armstrong, A., Shugart, H.H., Huth, A. (2014):
Simulating the impacts of reduced rainfall on carbon stocks and net ecosystem exchange in a tropical forest
Environ. Modell. Softw. 52 , 200 - 206
full text (doi) - Tello, M., Pardini, M., Papathanassiou, K., Fischer, R. (2014):
Towards forest structure characteristics retrieval from SAR tomographic profiles
Electronic Proceedings EUSAR 2018; 12th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar, 04-07 June, 2018, Aachen, Germany
VDE-Verlag, Berlin ; Offenbach, p. 1425 - 1428
full text (url)
| since 2023 | Full member at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig |
| since 2021 |
Head of the Working Group "Forest Modelling" Deputy Head of Department "Ecological Modelling" |
| 2018 - 2021 | Post Doc position at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig. Linking remote sensing and forest modeling. |
| 2013 - 2017 | Post Doc position at the Helmholtz Alliance “Remote Sensing and Earth System Dynamics" |
| 2010 - 2013 |
PhD student within the DFG Research Unit "KiLi” Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change - Linking biodiversity, biotic interactions and biogeochemical ecosystem processes Thesis: "Modelling the dynamics of African tropical forests. Analysis of the influence of disturbances on tropical forests using the FORMIND forest model" University of Osnabrück |
| 2008 - 2010 |
Master in Applied Mathematics at the University of Applied Science (HTWK) Leipzig Thesis: "Modelling the growth of rainforests. Investigation of the effects of drought stress and timber use on the tropical rainforest using the example of RNI Betampona, Madagascar" |
| 2005 - 2008 |
Diploma in Business Mathematics at the University of Applied Science (HTWK) Leipzig Thesis: "Modelling of non-linear dependencies with the help of copulas - application in the determination of value at risk" |
Awards
2014 - UFZ Doctoral Award
2013 - Best Presentation HIGRADE Conference