Research

Research Projects 

Dr. Zurqani's research projects varied from a regional/watershed-scale (Zurqani et al., 2018; Zurqani et al., 2022; and Zurqani, 2023) to a state/country-scale (Zurqani et al., 2019; Zurqani et al. 2021; Zurqani et al. 2022; and Zurqani et al. 2024). His research efforts focused on the development and applications of new technologies in the field of environmental information sciences, geo-intelligence (advanced geo-information science and earth observation, machine and deep learning, and big data analytics), remote sensing, sUAS/drones, spatiotemporal dynamics of climate change vulnerability at regional and global scales, land cover/land use mapping/modeling and validation, change detection and assessment of landscape degradation, monitoring and evaluating sustainable land management, pedology (i.e., soil genesis and classification), and geographic information system models.

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Forestry Applications

Highlighted Topics

The objectives of this research study are to: 1) use UAV remote sensing data and in-situ field observations to characterize key indicators of urban forest health, 2) investigate statistical relationships between forest health (i.e., individual forest trees and species) and vegetation indices derived from UAV imagery, and 3) calculate the trees' heights and crown widths, and use this information to calculate the above-ground carbon stock.

Mapping and Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Dynamics variation of Drought and Its Impact on The Vegetation Cover: Geospatial Analysis and Applications on Regional and Global Scales.

Highlighted Topics

This research aims to understand the multidisciplinary impact of climate on natural resources and ecosystems at both regional and global levels, with a particular emphasis on the effects of drought and its impact on local vegetation, hydrology, and wildfire patterns.

Land Cover/ Land Use change, monitoring, and assessment

Highlighted Topics

The objectives of this project are to: 1) determine the classes and the distribution of land cover in the region; 2) identify the spatial and the temporal change of the land cover that occurs as a consequence of land use change; and 3) discuss the potential effects of land use change in the area.

Soil and Ecosystem Dynamics

Highlighted Topics

The primary objectives of this project are to: 1) assess SIC replacement cost value in the contiguous United States (US) considering different spatial aggregation levels (ie, state, region, land resource region (LRR) using the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO, and SSURGO)  soil database; 2) demonstrate an approach for valuing non-constrained potential SIC sequestration from atmospheric Ca2+ and Mg2+ deposition based on the concept of the avoided social cost of carbon dioxide emissions (SC-CO2); and 3) to illustrate the monetary valuation of ecosystem services of soil systems (SS) with examples based on the organizational hierarchy of soil systems.

Soil Genesis and Classification (Pedology), and Soil Salinity

Copyright © 2024 Hamdi A. Zurqani.