Profile

Biography

Throughout my scientific career, I was driven to understand the spatial distribution of vegetation and biodiversity and how the face of landscapes is changing under climate and land use. While my approaches to scientific questions differed and developed according to new advancements in techniques and scientific approaches, relevance of my research for species and ecosystem health (including humans) and strategies to achieve that remained the ‘red line’ throughout.

Research

Overview

I am currently establishing a remote sensing approach to environmental monitoring and modelling in the Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot, (Marie Curie IEF funded: ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA - Tropical forests in East Africa - Environment gradient-diversity relationships and ecosystem function in the carbon cycle). I am interested in developing efficient strategies ensuring long-term protection of forests, woodlands and bushland without compromising local livelihoods. This represents a slight shift in my research focus towards socio-economic and ecological consequences of climate change and land use change in tropical Africa, underlying processes and opportunities for sustainable management. In the near future, I want to focus on the development of protocols for successful implementation of UN-REDD and UN-REDD+ policies, monitoring their success and adjusting them if necessary.

Previous postdoctoral projects: see http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~mp643/ for more details

MODGLOB (DFG funded): Plant population dynamics (central-marginal concept), modelling species' environmental envelopes, and prediction of species' response to global change. University of Potsdam, Germany. Collaborating with with European research institutions.

ASARVE (DAAD funded): 3D modelling of sitka spruce forest structure - Relating canopy structure to terrestrial carbon studies. Remote Sensing Lab,Department of Geography, UCL, UK. Collaborating with Dr. Disney and Dr. Lewis.

Publications

Full publications list

Publications

(1)  Pfeifer M, Disney M, Quaife T & Marchant R. Global Ecology and Biogeography. In major revision. Terrestrial ecosystems from space and from the ground: a review of earth observation products for ecological applications.

(2)  Pfeifer M, Passalacqua NG, Bartram S, Schatz B, Croce A, Carey PD, Kraudelt H & Jeltsch F. 2010. Conservation priorities differ at opposing species borders of a European orchid. Biological Conservation 143: 2207-2220.

(3)  Disney MI, Kalogirou V, Lewis P, Prieto-Blanco A, Hancock S & Pfeifer M. 2010. Simulating the impact of discrete-return lidar system and survey characteristics over young conifer and broadleaf forests. Remote Sensing of Environment 114: 1546-1560.

(4) Pfeifer M, Schatz B, Picó FX, Passalacqua NG, Fay MF, Carey PD & Jeltsch F. 2009. Phylogeography and genetic structure of the orchid Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) Spreng. across its European central-marginal gradient. Journal of Biogeography 36: 2353-2365.

(5) Pfeifer M, Disney MI & Lewis PD. 2007. Simulating Canopy Gap Fraction of Complex Forest scenes of Picea sitchensis (Sitka spruce). In 10th Intl. Symposium on Physical Measurements and Spectral Signatures in Remote Sensing (eds ME Schaepman, S.Liang, NE Groot, and M Kneubühler), Intl. Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol. XXXVI, P63, pp. 6. ISPRS, Davos (CH). ISSN 1682-1777.

(6) Pfeifer M & Jetschke G. 2006. Influence of geographical isolation on genetic diversity of Himantoglossum hircinum (Orchidaceae). Folia Geobotanica 41: 3-20

(7) Pfeifer M, Wiegand K, Heinrich W & Jetschke G. 2006. Long-term demographic fluctuations in an orchid species driven by weather: implications for conservation planning. Journal of Applied Ecology 43: 313-324

(8) Pfeifer M, Heinrich W & Jetschke G. 2006. Climate, size, and flowering history determine flowering behaviour of Himantoglossum hircinum (L.) (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 151: 511-526 

Scientific reports

(9)  Pfeifer M. 2010.  ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA – Ecosystem dynamics and importance for global carbon cycle and vegetation/atmosphere interactions. Scientific progress report submitted to Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA). September 2010.

(10) Pfeifer M. 2010. ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA – Satellite images for vegetation-atmosphere interrelations and carbon monitoring. Progress report to European Space Agency. Category 1 – User portal.

11) Pfeifer M. 2010.  ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA – Scientific progress report August 2009 to July 2010 submitted to EU for first year of Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship.

(12) Pfeifer M. 2009.  MODGLOB – „Species‘ environmental envelopes“ (PF 571/3-1). Final scientific report (post-doctoral research project MODGLOB - 2007 to 2009 -at Potsdam University) to German Research Community (DFG).

(13) Pfeifer M. 2007.  ASARVE – „3D modelling of Sitka spruce forest structure - Relating canopy structure to terrestrial carbon studies“ (PKZ D/06/43359). Final scientific report (post-doctoral research project ASARVE - 2006 - at University College London) to German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

(14) Pfeifer M. 2006.  CONGEN – „Genetic structure of H. hircinum“ (CONGEN SV/1075). Final report (travelling grant for international collaboration within CONGEN programme – 2006 – at Estacion Biologica de Donana CSIC in Seville) to European Science Foundation (ESF). 

Conference proceedings

(C1) Pfeifer M. et al. 2010. Talk. 40th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Giessen – Observations from space. Ecological Change Detection and Carbon Mapping in the Eastern Arc

(C2) Pfeifer M. et al. 2009. Talk. Biodiversity Hotspots in the Mediterranean Area. Species, communities, and landscape level. 45th International Congress of SISV and FIP - How phylogeography can help understanding geographic genetic pattern of the orchid Himantoglossum hircinum.

(C3) Pfeifer M. et al. 2007. Talk. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society for Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GfÖ) in Marburg, Germany – Plant Response to Global Environmental Changes – MODGLOB.

(C4) Pfeifer M. et al.  2007. Poster. 10th International Symposium on Physical Measurements and Signatures in Remote Sensing ISPMSRS, Davos, Switzerland - Simulating canopy gap fraction of complex forest scenes.

(C5) Pfeifer M. et al. 2006. Talk. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society for Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GfÖ) in Bremen, Germany – M. Pfeifer et al.: When weather drives demographic trends in plants – critics on PVA predictions for plant populations.

(C6) Pfeifer M. et al. 2006. Talk. Annual Meeting of the ‚British Ecological Society’ in Oxford –Relationships between life history traits, small-scale distribution, and spatial regeneration pattern of tree species in rainforests in Northern Queensland, Australia.

(C7) Pfeifer M. & Jetschke G. 2005. Talk. Symposium "Mediterranean plants in a changing environment", Hyeres, France –Influence of habitat isolation on genetic differentiation of the lizard orchid.

(C8) Pfeifer M. et al. 2005. Annual Meeting of the ‚British Ecological Society’ in London-Hatfield - Weather-driven long term demographic fluctuations in a plant species.

(C9) Pfeifer M. et al. 2004. Talk. International Orchid Workshop, Haapsalu, Estonia - Climate, size, and flowering history determine flowering behaviour of Himantoglossum hircinum (L.).