Résumé
The main objective of my research is to understand tropical vegetation dynamics at spatial (landscape, region...) and temporal (season-decade) scales relevant to the management, conservation and mechanistic modeling of these systems under the effect of climatic and anthropogenic forcings. The link between the architecture and functioning of plants and the structure and dynamics of vegetation is central to my research. Understanding how plant structure, function and interactions generate large-scale emergent dynamics may require the use of biophysical models to capture the often non-linear mechanisms at play. I'm also working on improving remote sensing approaches (mainly active and passive optical sensors), for the potential they offer for upscaling, although sensitivity and error propagation, instrumental effects and relevant indicators need to be carefully considered, which may also involve employing spatially explicit statistical approaches or radiative transfer modeling.