Welcome to the X Lab
My name is Qiaoyun Xie, Qiaoyun is pronounced like “Ciao-young”. I am a Lecturer (equivalent to an assistant professor in the US) in Environmental Engineering. I am also known as Dr. X, hence “The X Lab”.
Our group is based in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering within the School of Engineering at The University of Western Australia (UWA), a World Top 100 University. We are also part of the Centre for Water and Spatial Science at UWA.
We study ecosystem dynamics, especially plant growth, using satellite remote sensing and ground observations. Our specialties include vegetation parameter retrieval; carbon dynamics; vegetation phenology and shifting seasonality with climate variability; land surface responses and their interactions with climate; and land use activities and major disturbance events.
Climate Adaptation
How do we prepare for the changing biogeography of the Earth’s future climates? This is our overarching question. To answer that, our research aims to assist agricultural and environmental managers and facilitate engineering innovation to help us adapt to the rapidly changing climate. We are well positioned at UWA, where the Agriculture and Environmental Science and Engineering fields are ranked top 30 worldwide, with plenty opportunities to collaborate with excellent scientists both within the university and around the world. Located in Perth, one of the world’s most liveable cities, we are blessed with breath-taking nature. Come visit us, study or work with us!
What is Phenology?
The Science of What and When
Phenology is the study of seasons, both on the farm and in nature. My main research interest is using satellite data to map the natural and agricultural growing seasons of Australia and monitor their shift as a result of climate change. I also use airborne remote sensing data and field measurements to observe land surface responses and interactions with climate, land use activities, and major disturbance events.
