Research profile
Research trajectory & current work.
Gaia Foltran works at the interface of landscape ecology, Earth observation and environmental assessment. Her research combines GIS, remote sensing and spatial analysis to quantify environmental change and translate complex geospatial information into evidence that can support biodiversity conservation and territorial decision-making.
Her MSc research in Global Change Ecology and Sustainability analysed two decades of land-cover and landscape-pattern change across protected areas in the Mozambique–Zimbabwe transboundary region, integrating change detection and landscape metrics to investigate disturbance and habitat dynamics.
This Mozambique research is closely connected to the environmental questions addressed by BIOCONMOZ, the AICS international-cooperation proposal for Chimanimani National Park. Gaia is preparing a scientific manuscript based on her MSc thesis; this ongoing academic work is distinct from the implementation of the proposal, which is still under evaluation.
Alongside research, she has developed applied geospatial tools and workflows within European projects, including an interactive WebGIS for the Interreg Italy–Austria SPARE project and remote-sensing analyses for the Interreg Italy–Slovenia FIRESAFENET project, with work on vegetation mapping, spectral indices, wildfire risk and field validation.
Gaia has been selected for the co-funded Next-Generation EIA doctoral position in Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation (42nd cycle), supervised by Prof. Giovanni Bacaro and supported by ELC Electroconsult S.p.A. The doctoral programme is scheduled to begin on 1 November 2026. The research will investigate mechanistic connections between anthropogenic pressures, ecological responses, environmental outcomes and biodiversity offset requirements.
