UCL researcher secures ARIA funding to transform ecosystem resilience monitoring

Dr Mokroš has secured support for 3DTreePrint: Closed-loop resilience monitoring with scalable, repeatable, low-cost 3D structure mapping, an innovative project that aims to make advanced environmental monitoring more accessible, affordable and scalable.

Understanding the three-dimensional structure of vegetation is critical to assessing ecosystem health and resilience. The shape and arrangement of trees and forests influence biodiversity, habitat quality, water cycles, carbon storage, temperature regulation and the ability of ecosystems to recover from disturbance. Despite its importance, collecting this information has traditionally relied on expensive laser scanning equipment and specialist expertise, limiting its use in routine monitoring.

The 3DTreePrint project seeks to change that.

By combining low-cost LiDAR sensing technology with tailored workflows and automated software, the project will develop a practical approach for capturing detailed 3D measurements of trees and forests. The goal is to enable organisations to monitor ecosystem structure more frequently, consistently and at larger scales than is currently possible.

“This,” Dr Mokros continuied, “will provide forest managers, conservation organisations and researchers with new insights to assess ecosystem condition, evaluate management interventions and support resilience-building decisions.” 

The project brings together expertise from UCL Geography, Forest Research, Earthwatch Europe and the Polish Academy of Sciences. Alongside Dr Mokroš, the team includes Vera Correia, Juan Suarez and Caitlin Lewis at Forest Research, Claire Narraway from Earthwatch Europe, and Janusz Będkowski from the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The technology will create reliable “3D structural fingerprints” of trees and forests, providing a new way to track environmental change over time. These measurements could help land managers, conservation organisations and researchers identify early signs of ecosystem stress, evaluate the effectiveness of management interventions and develop new indicators of ecosystem resilience.

The funding forms part of ARIA’s wider mission to support high-risk, high-reward research with the potential to unlock transformative solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges. For UCL Geography, the project represents another step forward in developing innovative technologies that support environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.