Filling the need for a comprehensive book that covers both theory and application, Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover: Principles and Applications provides a synopsis of how remote sensing can be used for land-cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring from the local to the global scale. With contributions by leading scientists from aro

This is a book about how ecologists can integrate remote sensing and GIS in their daily work. It will allow ecologists to get started with the application of remote sensing and to understand its potential and limitations. Using practical examples, the book covers all necessary steps from planning field campaigns to deriving ecologically relevant information through remote sensing and modelling of species distributions. All practical examples in this book rely on OpenSource software and freely available data sets. Quantum GIS (QGIS) is introduced for basic GIS data handling, and in-depth spatial analytics and statistics are conducted with the software packages R and GRASS. Readers will learn how to apply remote sensing within ecological research projects, how to approach spatial data sampling and how to interpret remote sensing derived products. The authors discuss a wide range of statistical analyses with regard to satellite data as well as specialised topics such as time-series analysis. Extended scripts on how to create professional looking maps and graphics are also provided. This book is a valuable resource for students and scientists in the fields of conservation and ecology interested in learning how to get started in applying remote sensing in ecological research and conservation planning.

A volume in the three-volume Remote Sensing Handbook series, Land Resources Monitoring, Modeling, and Mapping with Remote Sensing documents the scientific and methodological advances that have taken place during the last 50 years. The other two volumes in the series are Remotely Sensed Data Characterization, Classification, and Accuracies, and Remo

Effectively Manage Wetland Resources Using the Best Available Remote Sensing TechniquesUtilizing top scientists in the wetland classification and mapping field, Remote Sensing of Wetlands: Applications and Advances covers the rapidly changing landscape of wetlands and describes the latest advances in remote sensing that have taken place over the pa

Volume II of Geospatial Information Handbook for Water Resources and Watershed Management discusses Geospatial Technology (GT) approaches using integrated modeling as applied to advanced water resource assessments. Features include multiple date land cover analyses as change in land cover influences water quality, model sensitivity analyses of DEM resolution and influences on modeling water characteristics like Manning’s n, development of seabed cover classification and sensitivity, and forecasting urban growth over time with climate vulnerability impacts on water. A detailed case study presents a range of water quality issues, all effectively demonstrating GT inputs to water quality studies from headwaters to receiving estuarine waters. Also analyzed are the comparison of evapotranspiration simulation performance by APEX model in dryland and irrigated cropping systems and perspectives on the future of transient storage modeling. Captures advanced technologies and applications for implementation with models to address a broad spectrum of water issues Provides real-world applications and case studies using advanced spectral and spatial sensors combined with geospatially facilitated water process models Features a Neuse River Basin case study integrating hydrologic methods and modeling along with remote sensing and GIS technologies for nonpoint source water quality evaluations Global coverage with applications demonstrated by more than 170 experts from around the world This handbook is a wide-ranging and contemporary reference of advanced geospatial techniques used in numerous practical applications at the local and regional scale and is an in-depth resource for professionals and the water research community worldwide.

A volume in the Remote Sensing Handbook series, Remotely Sensed Data Characterization, Classification, and Accuracies documents the scientific and methodological advances that have taken place during the last 50 years. The other two volumes in the series are Land Resources Monitoring, Modeling, and Mapping with Remote Sensing, and Remote Sensing of

As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011–2020 comes to a close and countries prepare to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, this edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them, to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Forests cover just over 30 percent of the global land area, yet they provide habitat for the vast majority of the terrestrial plant and animal species known to science. Unfortunately, forests and the biodiversity they contain continue to be under threat from actions to convert the land to agriculture or unsustainable levels of exploitation, much of it illegal. The State of the World’s Forests 2020 assesses progress to date in meeting global targets and goals related to forest biodiversity and examines the effectiveness of policies, actions and approaches, in terms of both conservation and sustainable development outcomes. A series of case studies provide examples of innovative practices that combine conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity to create balanced solutions for both people and the planet.

Currently, the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Commerce (DOC) acquire and operate separate polarorbiting environmental satellite systems that collect data needed for military and civil weather forecasting. The National Performance Review (NPR) and subsequent Presidential Decision Directive (PDD), directed the DOD (Air Force) and the DOC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA) to establish a converged national weather satellite program that would meet U.S. civil and national security requirements and fulfill international obligations. NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), and potentially other NASA programs, were included in the converged program to provide new remote sensing and spacecraft technologies that could improve the operational capabilities of the converged system. The program that followed, called the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), combined the follow-on to the DOD's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the DOC's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program. The tri-agency Integrated Program Office (IPO) for NPOESS was subsequently established to manage the acquisition and operations of the converged satellite. Issues in the Integration of Research and Operational Satellite Systems for Climate Research analyzes issues related to the integration of EOS and NPOESS, especially as they affect research and monitoring activities related to Earth's climate and whether it is changing.