Most of the contributors are from environmental and earth sciences, so focused on applications of remote sensing rather than on the technology. They explain how new tools of remote sensing have changed the way managers of protected areas keep track of the territory under their charge. They cover remote sensing of changing landscape of protected lands; for inventory, mapping, and conservation of protected lands and waters; for inventory and monitoring of frontier lands, and in decision support for managing protected lands. Among their topics are monitoring landscape dynamics of national parks in the western US, a user's perspective on accurately assessing habitat with remote sensing, integrating remote sensing and in situ observations to examine effects of past volcanic eruptions on the forests of the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in northeast China, the influence of realistic vegetation phenology on regional climate modeling, and geospatial decision models for managing protected wetlands. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
As debates about climate change and sustainability intensify, national parks and other protected lands become more important as indicators of ecosystem conditions. Providing a suite of remote sensing-based approaches for the protected lands around the world, this book addresses contemporary issues in monitoring, conservation planning, and ecosystem forecasting. Case studies explore remote sensing applications and examine advanced remote sensing technologies, including airborne and spaceborne high spatial resolution imageries, multispectral and multitemporal time series data, satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), and the integration of remote sensing and field measurements for information extraction and modeling.
National parks, wildlife refuges and sanctuaries, natural reserves, conservation areas, frontier lands, and marine-protected areas are increasingly recognized as essential providers of ecosystem services and biological resources. As debates about climate change and sustainability intensify, protected areas become more important as indicators of ecosystem conditions in particular environments or in comparison with adjacent environments.
The first book of its kind, Remote Sensing of Protected Lands showcases state-of-the-art remote sensing applications for the inventory and monitoring of protected areas. Contributions from renowned scholars and experts from around the world are organized into four sections covering the use of remote sensing in:
- Changing landscapes and change detection
- Inventory, mapping, and conservation
- Inventory and monitoring of frontier lands
- Decision support for the management of protected lands
A View of Both the Forest and the Trees
Combining reviews of theories and methods with analysis of case studies, the book gives readers both a systematic view of the field and detailed knowledge of specific topics. Case studies explore key topics in the context of a wide range of protected areas, including national parks in the United States and Canada, the Albertine Rift in eastern Africa, the Amazon forests, the Changbai Mountain region in Northeast Asia, the frontier lands in Siberia and the Tibetan Plateau, and marine protected areas along the tropical and temperate Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Alongside each case study, the book examines advanced remote sensing technologies such as airborne and spaceborne high spatial resolution imageries, multispectral and multitemporal time series data, satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), and the integration of r