Thomas Janssen

Thomas Janssen is an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation at Wageningen University & Research, with a visiting fellowship at VU University Amsterdam (2025). His work focuses on fire dynamics, climate change impacts, and ecosystem resilience in tropical and boreal regions. Utilizing remote sensing and ecological modeling, he investigates interactions between environmental factors like lightning, snowmelt, and land use changes. Key research areas include Amazon deforestation effects, boreal forest fire limits, and global carbon dynamics influenced by lightning fires.

Research Interests:

• Remote sensing applications in ecology
• Climate-fire relationships
• Boreal and tropical forest resilience
• Wildfire fuel dynamics

Notable Contributions:

• Mapped lightning-driven fire impacts on global carbon cycles
• Developed models linking snow disappearance to fire ignition patterns
• Explored Amazon fire activity drivers through land use-climate interactions

Collaborations: Active in international teams studying boreal ecosystems and tropical fire regimes.