From May 8 to 18, 2025, Vojtěch Barták from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences completed a scientific exchange at the University of Bologna as part of the EarthBridge project. The visit aimed to advance research on forest canopy height modeling using GEDI satellite data combined with Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Copernicus DEM inputs. A key collaborator during the stay was Prof. Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, an expert in forest ecology, whose insights contributed to methodological refinements—especially regarding the use of hierarchical random forest models and future validation using high-quality in-situ tree data.
The stay also included collaboration with PhD student Rocio Beatriz Cortes Lobos on a joint manuscript focused on data uncertainty in species distribution modelling, which has now been submitted. Apart from valuable scientific input and deepened collaborations, the exchange provided focused time for progressing on data analysis—free from daily academic duties. The next steps include finalizing the manuscript and planning future validation efforts. Despite minor scheduling challenges, the visit was highly productive and inspiring.
