AIRCAS and CONICET Strengthen Cooperation on Vegetation and Ecosystem Research

Dr. Guillermo Pastur, Senior Researcher at the Southern Centre for Scientific Research (CADIC) of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina, recently concluded his visit to the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), under the CAS President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) program hosted by Dr. WU Wenjin's research group. His visit marked another step forward in the growing scientific partnership between China and Argentina in remote sensing ecology.

Dr. Pastur is a leading ecologist, with expertise in forest ecology, biodiversity, and landscape dynamics. His research has greatly advanced the understanding of sustainable ecosystem management and vegetation responses to global climate change.

During his stay at AIRCAS, Dr. Pastur shared long-term field data collected by his team from the Patagonian Plateau. Using these data, Chinese and Argentine researchers jointly analyzed vegetation water content (VWC) products and model inversion results developed through multiple methods. Their comparative analyses revealed differences in model performance and accuracy, offering valuable insights for improving VWC retrieval models and enhancing the precision of remote sensing products. These findings will also contribute to building future global-scale VWC datasets.

The collaboration has already led to one joint research paper, with several more in progress. In addition to VWC studies, Dr. Pastur held in-depth discussions with AIRCAS scientists on biodiversity monitoring and biomass estimation, paving the way for new cooperative research directions.

Looking ahead, the joint research team plans to deepen their work on vegetation water content. Future studies will examine how VWC influences vegetation functional and phenological changes, assess ecosystem stability especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and analyze VWC responses to climatic phenomena such as El Niño, La Niña, and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

By revealing how climate processes shape VWC dynamics, the research aims to support ecological monitoring, regional sustainability, and global carbon–water cycle studies—providing scientific evidence for ecological management and policymaking under changing environmental conditions.

Dr.  Guillermo Pastur delivers  a speech at the 5th International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (FBAS) . 

 Dr. Guillermo Pastur visits SDG Demonstration Hall. 

Dr. Guillermo Pastur's journey in China.