SCIENTIST SAYS / NGC MONTHLY SERIES / JANUARY 2026

Dr Aparnna Ravi Panangattuparambil – Land-use and Carbon Cycle Modeller

Wed 11 February 2026,  NGC Communication Team

Dr Aparnna Ravi Panangattuparambil. 

SCIENTIST SAYS – OUR MONTHLY INTERVIEW SERIES Dr Aparnna Ravi Panangattuparambil is a researcher at the Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Aparnna’s main research focuses on improving understanding of carbon cycle processes and the impacts of land-use change on greenhouse gas fluxes. Within the NextGenCarbon project, she works on enhancing the bookkeeping model BLUE (Bookkeeping of Land Use Emissions) to produce more accurate land-use change emission estimates by implementing new recovery curves and integrating Earth observation data to refine global carbon budget assessments.

Hi Aparnna, please tell us about yourself briefly!

I am a postdoctoral researcher working on land-use and carbon cycle modelling at LMU, Munich, Germany. My interest in modelling developed during my PhD, where I focused on greenhouse gas modelling to better understand land–atmosphere carbon flux interactions and to improve regional estimates of carbon exchange using remote sensing products. During this time, I gained experience with inverse and process-based models, which are key components of Earth system modelling. In my postdoctoral work, I wanted to broaden my methodological expertise and therefore became interested in bookkeeping models, particularly to understand how emissions from land-use change are estimated.

In my current position, I work with the BLUE bookkeeping model to quantify carbon fluxes associated with land-use change. Through my research, I aim to improve our understanding of land-based carbon dynamics and contribute to more robust carbon budgets that support climate mitigation and policy-relevant assessments.

Why is it important to understand carbon cycle processes and land-use change impact on greenhouse gas fluxes?

Understanding carbon cycle processes and the impacts of land-use change on greenhouse gas fluxes is essential because land ecosystems play a central role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Human-driven land-use changes, such as deforestation, agriculture, and forest management, directly alter carbon stocks and fluxes, thereby influencing the global carbon budget and climate system. Improving our understanding of these processes helps reduce uncertainties in carbon cycle assessments, supports more accurate climate projections, and informs effective mitigation and land-management strategies.

BLUE will use information from other NextGenCarbon work packages, including land-use maps, disturbance datasets, and recovery curves, and its results are combined with land surface model outputs to improve comparability with national greenhouse gas inventories.

Within NextGenCarbon project, you are working with the bookkeeping model BLUE. Could you explain how this model works?

The BLUE model provides estimates of CO₂ emissions and removals from land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) by explicitly attributing carbon fluxes to specific land-use activities and regions using a spatially explicit bookkeeping framework. BLUE tracks carbon stock changes in vegetation and soils following land-use transitions using response curves. Within the NextGenCarbon project, BLUE is being further developed into BLUE 2.0, with higher spatial resolution, improved land-use forcing from HILDA+, and a better representation of land management and disturbances. The existing recovery curves will be improved by integrating Earth observation data into the model, and model structural code reorganization will be implemented to reduce computational costs while handling high-resolution input files. BLUE will use information from other NextGenCarbon work packages, including land-use maps, disturbance datasets, and recovery curves, and its results are combined with land surface model outputs to improve comparability with national greenhouse gas inventories.

What are your expectations for the NextGenCarbon project?

I expect the NextGenCarbon project to significantly advance the quantification of land–atmosphere carbon fluxes through improved models, high-resolution data, and Earth observation integration. The project brings together experts from across Europe, providing valuable opportunities for scientific collaboration, knowledge exchange, and network building. I also expect to benefit from access to a wide range of high-quality datasets produced within the project, which will support my research and contribute to policy-relevant carbon cycle assessments.

Where can our readers find you and your work?

Linked in:  www.linkedin.com/in/aparnnaravip

Research gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aparnna-p