Magdeline Laba
Senior Research Associate, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section
Magdeline Laba's long term interests emphasize the integration of remote sensing science and technology, geospatial data and field sampling methods to address agronomic and natural resource management issues.
Recent Research
My research program focuses on the spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal properties of remotely-sensed data to determine how to appropriately use such data to inventory and monitor natural resources, as well as to improve agricultural and environmental management and inform policy. My work focuses on the scale and resolution of the products generated from remotely-sensed data and the relationships between these products, environmental characteristics, and ecosystem processes. My program has a growing focus on the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on wetland plant communities and the ecosystem services they provide.
My research program focuses on the spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal properties of remotely-sensed data to determine how to appropriately use such data to inventory and monitor natural resources, as well as to improve agricultural and environmental management and inform policy. My work focuses on the scale and resolution of the products generated from remotely-sensed data and the relationships between these products, environmental characteristics, and ecosystem processes. My program has a growing focus on the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on wetland plant communities and the ecosystem services they provide.
Selected Journal Publications
- Tabak, N., Spector, S., & Laba, M. (2016). Simulating the effects of sea level rise on the resilience and migration of wetlands along the Hudson River. PLOS One. 11:25.
- Baveye, P., & Laba, M. (2015). Moving away from the geostatistical lamppost: Why, where, and how does the spatial heterogeneity of soils matter? Ecological Modelling. 298:24-38.
- Hauser, S., Meixler, M., & Laba, M. (2015). Quantification of impacts and ecosystem service loss in New Jersey coastal wetlands due to Hurricane Sandy storm surge. Wetlands. 25:1137-1148.
- Laba, M., Blair, B., Downs, R., Monger, B., Philpot, W. D., Smith, S. D., Sullivan, P. J., & Baveye, P. (2010). Use of textural measurements to map invasive wetland plants in the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve with Ikonos satellite imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment. 114: 876-886.
- Kojima, N., Laba, M., Velez-Liendo, X., Bradley, A., Millington, A., & Baveye, P. (2006). Causes of the apparent scale independence of fractal indexes associated with forest fragmentation in Bolivia. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 61:84-94.
- Laba, M., Tsai, F., Ogurcak, D., Smith, S., & Richmond, M. (2005). Field determination of optimal dates for the discrimination of invasive wetland plant species using derivative spectral analysis. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. 71:603-611.
- Laba, M., Gregory, S., Braden, J., Ogurcak, D., Hill, E., Fegraus, E., Fiore, J., & DeGloria, S. D. (2002). Conventional and fuzzy accuracy assessment of the New York GAP land cover map. Remote Sensing of Environment. 81:443-455.
Courses Taught
PLSCS 4110: Resource Inventory & Analysis
My instructional activities have focused on enabling students to appropriately integrate remotely sensed data and other sources of spatial data into research projects. This includes learning the basic principles of remote sensing and geodesy, the limitations associated with spatial datasets, and to become familiar with the software packages available to manipulate spatial data.
Contact Information
Ithaca, NY 14853
ml49 [at] cornell.edu
More information
Education
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University
2009
- Department of Soil, Crop & Atmospheric Sciences
Cornell Univeristy
1995
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Cornell University
1991
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering