"Improving biodiversity monitoring using satellite remote
sensing to provide solutions towards the 2020 conservation
targets"
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9 (8):
1784-1786 (2018)DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.13057
Abstract
"The preservation of biodiversity has become a major challenge for
sustainable development at national, European (Natura 2000 and
Habitats Directive) and international levels (Convention on Biological
Diversity, 2011–2020). To address the current conservation needs,
there is a need to operationalise methods to assess the distribution
of natural resources while integrating information on habitat condi-
tion; inform conservation planning and support the assessment of
ecosystem services. Increased access to satellite imagery and new
developments in data analyses can support progress towards bio-
diversity conservation targets by stepping up monitoring processes
at various spatial and temporal scales. Satellite imagery is indeed in-
creasingly being made accessible to all, while analytical techniques
to capitalise on the information contained in spatially explicit species
data, such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), are con-
stantly developing, and offering a plurality of options for application.
Free and open data policy is having a dramatic impact on our ability
to understand how biodiversity is being affected by anthropogenic
pressures, leading to increased opportunities to predict the conse-
quences of changes in drivers at different scales and plan for more
efficient mitigation measures.
Satellite remote sensing is however no panacea, and little can
be achieved without a robust understanding of the socio- ecological
system considered. Similarly, access to relevant field- based informa-
tion is the key to satellite imagery to be properly calibrated, analysed
and validated. This need for close collaboration between ecolo-
gists, modellers and remote sensing experts to derive meaningful
information can represent a serious challenge (Pettorelli, Safi, &
Turner, 2014). With this special feature, we aim to illustrate why
tackling this challenge is worth doing, by demonstrating how the
coupling of satellite remote sensing data with ground observations
and adequate modelling can provide tangible operational solutions
towards a better understanding and management of natural systems.
The contributions featured in this special feature result from tar-
geted invitations to prominent satellite remote sensing experts, who
have a known interest in applied ecology and are currently working
on innovative applications and methodological development to im-
prove environmental management outcomes. These contributions
focus on three key conservation challenges, namely (1) the moni-
toring of biodiversity; (2) the development of an improved under-
standing of biodiversity patterns; (3) the assessment of biodiversity’s
vulnerability to climate change."
