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SUMMARY:Modeling Ecological States and Transitions in the Latent Space - J
 ovana Knezevic\, University of Cambridge
DTSTART:20251205T130000Z
DTEND:20251205T140000Z
UID:TALK237448@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:114742
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\n\nWhile the growing availability of satellite data
  has revolutionized large-scale vegetation monitoring\, existing global ha
 bitat maps remain coarse and often inaccurate\, leaving us without a relia
 ble system for tracking habitat change. Current disturbance maps typically
  oversimplify complex dynamics into binary categories (e.g.\, forest vs. n
 on-forest) while static habitat maps rely on rigid thresholds and abrupt t
 ransitions that mask natural ecological gradients. We propose that Geospat
 ial Foundation Model (GFM) embeddings\, such as those from Alpha Earth and
  Tessera\, provide a unified physical state space capable of representing 
 both ecological continuity and dynamic transitions. In this talk\, I will 
 present early evidence suggesting that the latent geometry of these models
  can capture continuous spatial gradients\, as well as represent ecologica
 l changes as coherent directional trajectories within the embedding space.
  These findings suggest that GFMs may offer a continuous\, data-driven sub
 strate for ecology\, enabling a shift from static classification to a dyna
 mic state-transition model that can quantify both the precise state of an 
 ecosystem and its trajectory of change.\n\n*Bio*\n\nJovana Knezevic is a s
 econd-year PhD researcher in the Department of Plant Sciences at the Unive
 rsity of Cambridge. Leveraging a background in Computer Science and a deca
 de of experience in the tech industry\, her research focuses on bridging t
 he gap between geospatial foundation models and applied ecology.
LOCATION:Room GS15 at the William Gates Building and on Zoom: https://cl-c
 am-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=ad
 don 
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