European topic centre - university of malaga
Meet our team members
Christoph Schröder
GIS specialist and project manager
Christoph Schröder
GIS specialist and project manager
christoph.schroder@uma.es
+34 951 952 906
Based on my MSc in Geography (University of Bonn) I have developed expertise in Geographic Information Systems and land use/cover change analysis from local to global scale with particular interest in the Mediterranean. Over the last few years, I have developed a strong involvement in science-policy interfaces on the European level, trying to find smart ways to solve important environmental issues relevant to policy-makers.
The main focus of my activities at ETC-UMA is on data integration and thematic assessment on European scale for a wide range of topics from sustainable tourism to nutrient inputs on agro-ecosystems. This data-driven work is supporting the European Environment Agency in their policy monitoring and formulation. I have also applied my GIS expertise on a variety of projects dealing with terrestrial and marine ecosystems (Med-IAMER) and territorial development (ESPON ESaTDOR). In recent year, I have gained a profound expertise in the assessment of user requirements for Earth Observation products, particularly addressing habitat and wetland monitoring.
Since 2014, I am local contact point for the Erasmus Mundus project gSmart, facilitating the selection and support to students and researchers from Central Asian partner universities.
Do not hesitate to get in touch with me via e-mail or LinkedIn.
RESOURCES
Journal Articles
Weise, K.; Höfer, R.; Franke, J.; Guelmami, A.; Simonson, W.; Muro, J.; O'Connor, B.; Strauch, A.; Flink, S.; Eberle, J.; Mino, E.; Thulin, S.; Philipson, P.; van Valkengoed, E.; Truckenbrodt, J.; Zander, F.; Sánchez-Espinosa, A.; Schröder, C.; Thinfeld, F.; Fitoka, E.; Scott, E.; Ling, M.; Schwarz, M.; Kunz, I.; Thürmer, G.; Plasmeijer, A.; Hilarides, L.
Wetland extent tools for SDG 6.6.1 reporting from the Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS) Journal Article
In: Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 247, 2019.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, SWOS, Wetlands
@article{Weise2019,
title = {Wetland extent tools for SDG 6.6.1 reporting from the Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS)},
author = {K. Weise and R. Höfer and J. Franke and A. Guelmami and W. Simonson and J. Muro and B. O'Connor and A. Strauch and S. Flink and J. Eberle and E. Mino and S. Thulin and P. Philipson and E. van Valkengoed and J. Truckenbrodt and F. Zander and A. Sánchez-Espinosa and C. Schröder and F. Thinfeld and E. Fitoka and E. Scott and M. Ling and M. Schwarz and I. Kunz and G. Thürmer and A. Plasmeijer and L. Hilarides},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111892},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111892},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-09-15},
journal = {Remote Sensing of Environment},
volume = {247},
abstract = {Wetlands are the most fragile and threatened ecosystems worldwide, and also one of the most rapidly declining. At the same time wetlands are typically biodiversity hotspots and provide a range of valuable ecosystem services, such as water supply and purification, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and carbon sequestration.
Pressures on wetlands are likely to further intensify in the coming decades due to increased global demand for land and water, and due to climate change. Stakeholders at all levels of governance have to be involved to slow, stop and reverse these processes. However, the information they need on wetland extent, their ecological character, and their ecosystem services is often scattered, sparse and difficult to find and access.
The freely available Sentinel satellite data of the Copernicus Programme, as well as the Landsat archive, provide a comprehensive basis to map and inventory wetland areas (extent), to derive information on the ecological status, as well as long- and short-term trends in wetland characteristics. However, making use of these Earth Observation (EO) resources for robust and standardized wetland monitoring requires expert knowledge on often complex data processing techniques, which impedes practical implementation. In this respect, the Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS), a Horizon 2020 funded project (www.swos-service.eu) has developed and made disseminated monitoring approaches based on EO data, specifically designed for less experienced satellite data users.
The SWOS monitoring tools aim at assisting countries in conducting national wetland inventories for their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) reporting and monitoring obligations, and additionally facilitates other monitoring obligations such as those required by the Ramsar Convention and supports decision-making in local conservation activities. The four main components of the SWOS approach are: map and indicator production; software development; capacity building; and initializing the GEO Wetlands Community Portal. Wetland managers and data analysists from more than fifty wetland sites and river basins across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa investigated the benefits and limitations of this EO-based wetland mapping and monitoring approach.
We describe research that applies the SWOS tools to test their potential for the mapping of wetlands in a case study based in Albania, and show its effectiveness to derive metrics relevant to the monitoring of SDG indicator 6.6.1.},
keywords = {Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, SWOS, Wetlands},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Pressures on wetlands are likely to further intensify in the coming decades due to increased global demand for land and water, and due to climate change. Stakeholders at all levels of governance have to be involved to slow, stop and reverse these processes. However, the information they need on wetland extent, their ecological character, and their ecosystem services is often scattered, sparse and difficult to find and access.
The freely available Sentinel satellite data of the Copernicus Programme, as well as the Landsat archive, provide a comprehensive basis to map and inventory wetland areas (extent), to derive information on the ecological status, as well as long- and short-term trends in wetland characteristics. However, making use of these Earth Observation (EO) resources for robust and standardized wetland monitoring requires expert knowledge on often complex data processing techniques, which impedes practical implementation. In this respect, the Satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS), a Horizon 2020 funded project (www.swos-service.eu) has developed and made disseminated monitoring approaches based on EO data, specifically designed for less experienced satellite data users.
The SWOS monitoring tools aim at assisting countries in conducting national wetland inventories for their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) reporting and monitoring obligations, and additionally facilitates other monitoring obligations such as those required by the Ramsar Convention and supports decision-making in local conservation activities. The four main components of the SWOS approach are: map and indicator production; software development; capacity building; and initializing the GEO Wetlands Community Portal. Wetland managers and data analysists from more than fifty wetland sites and river basins across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa investigated the benefits and limitations of this EO-based wetland mapping and monitoring approach.
We describe research that applies the SWOS tools to test their potential for the mapping of wetlands in a case study based in Albania, and show its effectiveness to derive metrics relevant to the monitoring of SDG indicator 6.6.1.
Rodríguez-Rodríguez, D.; Sánchez-Espinosa, A.; Schröder, C.; Abdul-Malak, D.; Rodríguez, J.
Cumulative pressures and low protection: a concerning blend for Mediterranean MPAs Journal Article
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 101, pp. 288-295, 2015.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Climate Change, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures
@article{Rodríguez-Rodrígueza2015,
title = {Cumulative pressures and low protection: a concerning blend for Mediterranean MPAs},
author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and A. Sánchez-Espinosa and C. Schröder and D. Abdul-Malak and J. Rodríguez},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15300540},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.09.039},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-12-01},
journal = {Marine Pollution Bulletin},
volume = {101},
pages = {288-295},
abstract = {This study classifies Mediterranean marine protected areas (MPAs) according to the combined result of pressure level and protection. Six major marine environment pressures were considered: pressures from fish farms, fishing, marine litter, pressures from marinas, pollution from maritime transport, and climate change. MPA protection was assessed through legal protection and management effort. Most MPA area in the Mediterranean is under relatively high pressure level and afforded low protection. Inshore areas show higher pressure levels. Five marine ecoregions, nine countries and nineteen MPA designation categories have over 50% of their MPA area under major concern. The mean number of cumulative pressures occurring in priority MPAs ranges between three and four, although the mean combined intensity of those pressures is low. However, these figures are most likely underestimated, especially for the southern Mediterranean. The most concerning pressures to MPAs regarding extent and intensity were: climate change, fishing and pollution from maritime transport.},
keywords = {Climate Change, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Proceedings
Martorell-Guerrero, G.; Marín, A. I.; Sánchez-Espinosa, A.; Schröder, C.
Herramientas de apoyo a la gestión de los humedales de Andalucía basadas en Google Earth Engine. Proceedings
2023.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Geotechnology, Groundwater, Pressures, Wetlands
@proceedings{nokey,
title = {Herramientas de apoyo a la gestión de los humedales de Andalucía basadas en Google Earth Engine.},
author = {G. Martorell-Guerrero and A. I. Marín and A. Sánchez-Espinosa and C. Schröder},
url = {https://riuma.uma.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10630/28052/Martorell_et_al_2023_SIAGA.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-11-13},
urldate = {2023-11-13},
booktitle = {Simposio del Agua en Andalucía 2023},
abstract = {Los humedales son ecosistemas claves a nivel global para la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos tan importantes como la regulación climática o el mantenimiento de la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, en las últimas décadas la situación de degradación y desaparición de estos hábitats es alarmante a pesar de ser centro de múltiples políticas internacionales de protección que, a la luz de los resultados que están teniendo, no han tenido la efectividad esperada en su implementación real. Por tanto, es necesario tomar medidas urgentes dirigidas a revertir esta situación y que su implementación sea evaluada de forma objetiva, sistemática y recurrente. Este trabajo presenta una herramienta web llamada GreenEye Hub para el seguimiento de los humedales del Inventario de Humedales de Andalucía basada en imágenes de satélite del Sentinel-2, técnicas de teledetección y en tecnologías de procesamiento de datos masivos mediante Google Earth Engine. La herramienta, con un diseño orientado a la gestión de estos ecosistemas, presenta una consola de visualización que permite realizar el seguimiento de los principales indicadores de agua y vegetación y el análisis de tendencias de estos. Es, por tanto, un sistema de apoyo a la gestión y a la toma de decisiones. Este estudio proporciona información de cómo es factible en la actualidad desarrollar un sistema de seguimiento de humedales a escala regional a partir de datos gratuitos accesibles y cómo esta herramienta constituye un proceso de transferencia del conocimiento desde la ciencia a la gestión.},
keywords = {Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Geotechnology, Groundwater, Pressures, Wetlands},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}
Technical Reports
UNEP-MAP,; Plan-Bleu,; Abdul-Malak, D.; Marín, A. I.; Schröder, C.; Sánchez-Espinosa, A.
SoED 2020 : State of Environment and Development in Mediterranean Technical Report
2020.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures, Protected areas
@techreport{UNEP-MAP2020,
title = {SoED 2020 : State of Environment and Development in Mediterranean},
author = {UNEP-MAP and Plan-Bleu and D. Abdul-Malak and A. I. Marín and C. Schröder and A. Sánchez-Espinosa},
url = {https://planbleu.org/en/soed-2020-state-of-environment-and-development-in-mediterranean/},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-12-01},
abstract = {The SoED provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of environment and development interactions in the Mediterranean region. The 2020 version consists of eight thematic chapters and is complemented by two summary papers: Summary for Decision Makers and Key Messages. Topics covered include: socio-economic drivers and trends; climate change; biodiversity and ecosystem services; economic activities and related pressures; coastal dynamics and related impacts; food and water security; health and environment; and governance.},
keywords = {Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures, Protected areas},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {techreport}
}