REMOTE SENSING FOR ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION. A HANDBOOK OF TECHNIQUES

Preface
Acronyms List
1: Introduction: Why Ecologists and Conservation Biologists Use Remote Sensing
2: When to Use Remote Sensing
3: Working with Images
4: Measuring and Monitoring Land Cover, Land Use, and Vegetation Characteristics
5: Terrain and Soils
6: Marine and Coastal Environments
7: Wetlands-Estuaries, Inland Wetlands, and Freshwater Lakes
8: Atmosphere and Climate
9: Disturbances: Fires and Floods
10: Landscape Fragmentation
11: Human Interfaces and Urban Change
12: Protected Area Design and Monitoring
13: Integrating Field Data
14: Linking Remote Sensing with Modeling
15: Global Conservation
Appendix 1 The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Appendix 2 Image Processing Software
Appendix 3 Open Source Software
Appendix 4 Satellites and Sensors
Appendix 5 Visual Interpretation
Appendix 6 Systems for Observing Climate and Atmospheric Phenomena
References
Index

The work of conservation biology has grown from local studies of single species into a discipline concerned with mapping and managing biodiversity on a global scale. Remote sensing, using satellite and aerial imaging to measure and map the environment, increasingly provides a vital tool for effective collection of the information needed to research and set policy for conservation priorities. The perceived complexities of remotely sensed data and analyses have tended to discourage scientists and managers from using this valuable resource. This text focuses on making remote sensing tools accessible to a larger audience of non-specialists, highlighting strengths and limitations while emphasizing the ways that remotely sensed data can be captured and used, especially for evaluating human impacts on ecological systems.

Features
• Structured around biomes (both terrestrial and aquatic), reflecting the approach and organization typically used in ecology and conservation biology
• Full colour images throughout
• Emphasis on applications and (global) case studies, with a focus on making remote sensing tools accessible to ecologists and conservation biologists

Authors
• Ned Horning, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
• Julie A. Robinson, NASA Johnson Space Center, USA.
• Eleanor J. Sterling, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
• Woody Turner, NASA Headquarters, USA.
• Sacha Spector, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA