Xiaopeng Song

Xiaopeng received his Ph.D. in Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland in 2015. Prior to joining UMD, he received his B.S. in Geographical Information Science and a double major in Economics from Peking University, China. He is interested to study the nature of the Earth's changing land surface and its interactions with human society through the lens of satellite remote sensing. His current research focuses on monitoring land cover and land use change (LCLUC) such as deforestation, cropland expansion and urbanization at local to global scales. Other ongoing research investigates the causes and consequences of LCLUC by linking remote sensing, ecological and socioeconomic data. The overarching goal of Xiaopeng’s research is to improve our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of human-environment interaction in the context of global change.