Luis Carrasco Tornero

Senior Geospatial and Sustainability Scientist
luiscartor (at) gmail.com
lcarrasco (at) tract.eco
TRACT

Biography

I am a geospatial and environmental data scientist with a background in ecology, biodiversity conservation, and remote sensing. I work at the intersection of geospatial data science, sustainability measurement, and biodiversity conservation, translating scientific datasets and methods into operational tools for monitoring deforestation, carbon, biodiversity, and nature-related risks.

I currently work as Senior Geospatial & Sustainability Data Scientist at TRACT, a sustainability measurement and insights platform for agriculture and food supply chains. My work focuses on geospatial analytics, science-based methodology development, and data integration for deforestation-risk assessment, carbon and land-use change analytics, farm-boundary data workflows, and nature-related insights. I have led technical work connecting external geospatial data providers and customer-uploaded spatial data with TRACT's analytics, internal spatial analytics using Google Earth Engine and BigQuery, and agrifood industry technical working groups on deforestation. Formerly, I was an Applied Scientist in Sustainability at Descartes Labs, where I worked on satellite-based approaches for deforestation alerts, biomass and forest carbon monitoring, and biodiversity monitoring. Before moving into industry, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo, and at NIMBioS/University of Tennessee, where I worked on forest structure measurements with lidar, historical habitat and crop mapping, environment-biodiversity relationships, protected areas, and climate change. Prior to that, I worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) in the UK, contributing to the UK national Land Cover Map. I obtained my PhD at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, where I studied the habitat selection of colonial herons and egrets. I studied physics and biodiversity conservation at the University of Valencia, Spain, where I found my passion for nature and for looking at the Earth from above.

Journal Publications

  1. Carrasco L., M. Mashiko, Y. Toquenaga. 2014. Application of random forest algorithm for studying habitat selection of colonial herons and egrets in human-influenced landscapes. Ecological Research 29: 483-491.
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  2. Carrasco L., Y. Toquenaga, M. Mashiko. 2015. Extrapolation of random forest models shows scale adaptation in egret colony site selection against landscape complexity. Ecological Complexity 24: 29-36.
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  3. Carrasco L., Y. Toquenaga, M. Mashiko. 2017. Balance between site fidelity and habitat preferences in colony site selection by herons and egrets. Journal of Avian Biology 48: 965-975.
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  4. Carrasco L., P. Vera, E. Belda, J.S. Monrós. 2017. Combining remote sensing and field mapping methods to study the vegetation dynamics within a coastal wetland and determine the habitat effects of a threatened bird species (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi). Journal of Coastal Research 34: 42-49.
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  5. Carrasco L., L. Norton, P. Henrys, G.M. Siriwardena, C.J. Rhodes, C. Rowland, D. Morton. 2018. Habitat diversity and structure regulate British bird richness: Implications of non-linear relationships for conservation. Biological Conservation 226: 256-263.
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  6. Carrasco L., A.W. O'Neil, R.D. Morton, C.S. Rowland. 2019. Evaluating combinations of temporally aggregated Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 for land cover mapping with Google Earth Engine. Remote Sensing 11: 288.
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  7. Scholefield P., D. Morton, G. McShane, L. Carrasco, M.G. Whitfield, C. Rowland, R. Rose, C. Wood, E. Tebbs, B. Dodd, D. Monteith. 2019. Estimating habitat extent and carbon loss from an eroded northern blanket bog using UAV derived imagery and topography. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment 43: 282-298.
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  8. Carrasco L., X. Giam, M. Papeş, K.S. Sheldon. 2019. Metrics of lidar-derived 3D vegetation structure reveal contrasting effects of horizontal and vertical forest heterogeneity on bird species richness. Remote Sensing 11: 743.
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  9. Hunt M., C.S. Rowland, G.A. Blackburn, L. Carrasco, J.W. Redhead. 2019. High resolution wheat yield mapping using Sentinel-2. Remote Sensing of Environment 233: 111410.
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  10. Liang W., A. Mongi, L. Carrasco, J. McNelis, L. Tran, Y. Li, J. Grant. 2020. Mapping vegetation at species level with high-resolution multispectral and lidar data over a large spatial area: A case study with kudzu. Remote Sensing 12: 609.
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  11. Sarzynski T., X. Giam, L. Carrasco, J.S.H. Lee. 2020. Combining Radar and Optical Imagery to Map Oil Palm Plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia, Using the Google Earth Engine. Remote Sensing 12: 1220.
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  12. Carrasco L., M. Papeş, E.N. Lochner, B.C. Ruiz, A.G. Williams, G.J. Wiggins. 2020. Potential regional declines in species richness of tomato pollinators in North America under climate change. Ecological Applications 31: e02259.
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  13. Carrasco L.., M. Papeş, K.S. Sheldon, X. Giam. 2021. Global progress in incorporating climate adaptation into land protection for biodiversity since Aichi targets. Global Change Biology 27: 1788-1801.
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  14. Sahneh F. et al. 2021. Ten simple rules to cultivate transdisciplinary collaboration in data science. PLoS Computational Biology 17(5): e1008879.
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  15. Carrasco L., X. Giam, K.S. Sheldon, M. Papeş. 2022. The relative influence of history, climate, topography and vegetation structure on local animal richness varies among taxa and spatial grains. Journal of Animal Ecology 91 (8): 1596-1611.
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  16. Carrasco L., G. Fujita ,K. Kito, T. Miyashita. 2022. Historical mapping of rice fields in Japan using phenology and temporally aggregated Landsat images in Google Earth Engine. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 191: 277-289.
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  17. Atkins, J.W., P. Bhatt, L. Carrasco, ... K. Krause. 2023. Integrating forest structural diversity measurement into ecological research. Ecosphere: 14:9, e4633.
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  18. Hunt M.L., G.A. Blackburn, G.M. Siriwardena, L. Carrasco, C.S. Rowland. 2023. Using satellite data to assess spatial drivers of bird diversity. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation: 10.1002/rse2.322
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  19. Alambiaga, I., Carrasco, L., Vera, P., & Monrós, J. S. (2026). Integrating connectivity and habitat availability to identify key wetlands for a critically endangered marsh passerine and guide its national-scale conservation. Ornithological Applications, 128(1), 1-14.
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Data Publications

  1. 12 DOI-associated datasets related to the UK Land Cover Map 2015.
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  2. Carrasco L., Go Fujita, Kensuke Kito, Tadashi Miyashita. 2021. Historical rice field maps of Japan. Mendeley Data, V1, DOI: 10.17632/v4xmd5kgck.1
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  3. Carrasco L., Giam, Xingli; Sheldon, Kimberly S.; Papes, Mona. 2022. The relative influence of history, climate, topography and vegetation structure on local animal richness varies among taxa and spatial grains, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x0k6djhmx
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Web Apps

  1. TAMBO Project. 2021. Historical rice field maps of Japan.

Magazine and blog articles

  1. SENSED. 2017 (Issue 65). Dissecting avian behaviour from space.

  2. MasScience. 2020. Bosques, láseres y diversidad de aves (In Spanish).

Featured Media

  1. NEON - Observatory Blog. 2019. Studying relationships between forest structure and bird biodiversity.

  2. Anthropocene Magazine. Berly McCoy. 2021. Climate change compels us to reconsider protected area borders.

  3. National Science Foundation - News. 2021. Climate change forces rethinking of conservation biology planning.

  4. YALE - Climate Connections. Molly Matthews Multedo. 2021. How climate change could harm some wild bee populations.

  5. THE LANCET - Planetary Health. Sam Hinsley. 2021. Protected area adaptability.

Selected Conference Presentations

  1. Choosing the best or avoiding the worst? 2013. 60th Ann. Meeting of ESJ, Japan. Poster presentation.

  2. Rule of the thumbs of different lengh in colony site selection of herons and egrets. 2014. 61th Ann. Meeting of ESJ, Japan. Contributed Talk.

  3. Using remote sensing for the study of the vegetation dynamics of a coastal Mediterranean wetland and its effect on the habitat availability of a threatened passerine. 2014. 26th International Ornithological Congress, Japan. Poster Presentation.

  4. Inexpensive satellite images + long-term census data = evolution of habitat selection 2014. 26th International Ornithological Congress, Japan. Poster Presentation.

  5. From remote sensing to avian behavior: changes in colony site selection strategies of herons and egrets. 2016. Symposium on Space - The Final Frontier for Biodiversity Monitoring?, UK. Poster Presentation.

  6. Using remote sensing to study changes in habitat selection of avian species over time. 2016. Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Soc. Ann. Meeting, UK. Poster Presentation.

  7. Developing methods for UK Land Cover Mapping with Sentinel-2. 2016. Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Soc. Ann. Meeting, UK. Poster Presentation.

  8. Breeding site selection in multi-species bird colonies: changes in selection strategies over time. 2016. British Ecological Society Ann. Meeting, UK. Poster Presentation.

  9. Environmental heterogeneity regulates bird richness at a 1-km scale in Great Britain. 2017. British Ecological Society Ann. Meeting, UK. Poster Presentation.

  10. Temporal aggregations of Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Landsat 8 for land-cover mapping . 2018. Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Soc. Ann. Meeting, UK. Poster Presentation.

  11. LiDAR-derived 3D structural metrics reveal opposite effects of horizontal and vertical forest heterogeneity on bird richness. 2019. Ecological Society of America Ann. Meeting, USA. Contributed Talk.

Invited Talks

  1. Changes in colony site selection strategies of herons and egrets over the years: new statistical methods for studying habitat selection. 2014. 30th Ann. Meeting of the Society of Population Ecology, Japan.

  2. Habitat structure and animal diversity. 2019. Conservation Science Group Meeting, University of Tennessee, US.

  3. Habitat heterogeneity as a driver of species distribution and diversity. 2020. Gunshu Seminar, Department of Ecosystem Studies, University of Tokyo, Japan.

  4. Scaling sustainability monitoring at TRACT. 2025. Geo 4 Good, NY.

  5. From BigQuery to GEE and back: scaling sustainability insights. 2025. Geo 4 Good, NY.

  6. Tackling compliance with GFW Pro: enabling deforestation-free supply chains. 2025. Global Forest Watch webinar.

Invited Workshops

  1. The Impact of Climate Changes on Animal Populations. 2015. Erice, Italy.

  2. NERC Valuing Nature - Business Impact School. 2016. London, UK.

  3. NSF - Lemmon Lab: Collaborations between data scientists and domain scientists. 2019. Tucson, AR, US.

  4. NSF - Exploring New Dimensions of Forest Ecosystems with Structural Diversity. 2020. Purdue University, US (Online).

Grants and Awards

  1. International Exchange Program. 2006-07. University of Valencia, Spain.

  2. Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Graduate Students. 2011-15. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

  3. Doctoral Program in Biological Sciences Dean's Award. 2015. University of Tsukuba, Japan.

  4. Best Poster Prize. 2016. Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Annual Meeting. Birmingham, UK.

  5. Recipient of NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mathematical Biology. 2018. Awarded by the NSF's National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis. Knoxville, TN, US.

  6. Recipient of Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship. 2020-21. Standard Program. Tokyo, Japan.

  7. Recipient of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research. 2020. Awarded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), $12,000. Tokyo, Japan.