Remote Sensing Handbook, Volume IV


Book Description

Volume IV of the Six Volume Remote Sensing Handbook, Second Edition, is focused on the use of remote sensing in forestry, biodiversity, ecology, land use and land cover, and global terrestrial carbon mapping and monitoring. It discusses remote sensing studies of multi-scale habitat modeling, forest informatics, tree and stand height studies, land cover and land use (LCLU) change mapping, forest biomass and carbon modeling and mapping, and advanced image analysis methods and advances in land remote sensing using optical, radar, LiDAR, and hyperspectral remote sensing. This thoroughly revised and updated volume draws on the expertise of a diverse array of leading international authorities in remote sensing and provides an essential resource for researchers at all levels interested in using remote sensing. It integrates discussions of remote sensing principles, data, methods, development, applications, and scientific and social context. FEATURES Provides the most up-to-date comprehensive coverage of remote sensing science for forests, biodiversity, land cover and land use change (LCLUC), biomass, and carbon. Discusses and analyzes data from old and new generations of satellites and sensors spread across 60 years. Extensive forestry, LCLUC studies, biomass, and carbon using optical, radar, LiDAR, and hyperspectral data. Includes numerous case studies on advances and applications at local, regional, and global scales. Introduces advanced methods in remote sensing such as machine learning, cloud computing, and AI. Highlights scientific achievements over the last decade and provides guidance for future developments. This volume is an excellent resource for the entire remote sensing and GIS community. Academics, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practitioners, decision makers, and policymakers, will benefit from the expertise of the professionals featured in this book and their extensive knowledge of new and emerging trends.




The Rise of Big Spatial Data


Book Description

This edited volume gathers the proceedings of the Symposium GIS Ostrava 2016, the Rise of Big Spatial Data, held at the Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, March 16–18, 2016. Combining theoretical papers and applications by authors from around the globe, it summarises the latest research findings in the area of big spatial data and key problems related to its utilisation. Welcome to dawn of the big data era: though it’s in sight, it isn’t quite here yet. Big spatial data is characterised by three main features: volume beyond the limit of usual geo-processing, velocity higher than that available using conventional processes, and variety, combining more diverse geodata sources than usual. The popular term denotes a situation in which one or more of these key properties reaches a point at which traditional methods for geodata collection, storage, processing, control, analysis, modelling, validation and visualisation fail to provide effective solutions. >Entering the era of big spatial data calls for finding solutions that address all “small data” issues that soon create “big data” troubles. Resilience for big spatial data means solving the heterogeneity of spatial data sources (in topics, purpose, completeness, guarantee, licensing, coverage etc.), large volumes (from gigabytes to terabytes and more), undue complexity of geo-applications and systems (i.e. combination of standalone applications with web services, mobile platforms and sensor networks), neglected automation of geodata preparation (i.e. harmonisation, fusion), insufficient control of geodata collection and distribution processes (i.e. scarcity and poor quality of metadata and metadata systems), limited analytical tool capacity (i.e. domination of traditional causal-driven analysis), low visual system performance, inefficient knowledge-discovery techniques (for transformation of vast amounts of information into tiny and essential outputs) and much more. These trends are accelerating as sensors become more ubiquitous around the world.




Forestry Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning


Book Description

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) has emerged as one of the most promising remote sensing technologies to provide data for research and operational applications in a wide range of disciplines related to management of forest ecosystems. This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of the research and application of ALS in a broad range of forest-related disciplines, especially forest inventory and forest ecology. However, this book is more than just a collection of individual contributions – it consists of a well-composed blend of chapters dealing with fundamental methodological issues and contributions reviewing and illustrating the use of ALS within various domains of application. The reviews provide a comprehensive and unique overview of recent research and applications that researchers, students and practitioners in forest remote sensing and forest ecosystem assessment should consider as a useful reference text.




National Forest Inventories


Book Description

Forest inventories throughout the world have evolved gradually over time. The content as well as the concepts and de?nitions employed are constantly adapted to the users’ needs. Advanced inventory systems have been established in many countries within Europe, as well as outside Europe, as a result of development work spanning several decades, in some cases more than 100 years. With continuously increasing international agreements and commitments, the need for information has also grown drastically, and reporting requests have become more frequent and the content of the reports wider. Some of the agreements made at the international level have direct impacts on national economies and international decisions, e. g. , the Kyoto Protocol. Thus it is of utmost importance that the forest information supplied is collected and analysed using sound scienti?c principles and that the information from different countries is comparable. European National Forest Inventory (NFI) teams gathered in Vienna in 2003 to discuss the new challenges and the measures needed to get data users to take full advantage of existing NFIs. As a result, the European National Forest Inventory Network (ENFIN), a network of NFIs, was established. The ENFIN members decided to apply for funding for meetings and collaborative activities. COST– European Cooperation in Science and Technology - provided the necessary ?n- cial means for the realization of the program.




Designing Green Landscapes


Book Description

While the natural resources of the earth continue to diminish, “Green Landscapes” arebeingcalleduponto produceanincreasingrangeofgoodsandservices.A Green Landscape is a rural expanse of scenery that may comprise a variety of visible f- tures. This book focuses on forested landscapes, although much of the theory and most of the practical applications are valid for any area of land. In many regions of the world, people depend on forests for their livelihood and well-being. Forests provide multiple services, – bene ts generated for society by the existence of c- tain forest ecosystems and their attributes. The value of these bene ts is often only recognised when they are lost after removal of the trees, resulting in ooding, loss of income and declining species diversity. Forests provide multiple services. However, the amount and quality, and the p- ticular mix of these services depend on the condition of the resource. Landscape design is a proven way to ensure that certain desired bene ts will be available in space and time. It provides the foundation and an essential starting point for s- tainable management. This volume, which forms part of Springer’s book series Managing Forest Ecosystems,presentsstate-of-the-artresearchresults,visionsandtheories,aswell as speci c methodsfor designing Green Landscapes, as a basis for sustainable ecos- tem management. The book contains a wealth of information which may be useful to companymanagement,the legal and policy environmentand forestry administ- tors. The volume is subdivided into four sections.




Tree and Forest Measurement


Book Description

Trees and forests are large and complex, but even something as difficult as the amount of wood they contain can be measured with quite unsophisticated equipment. Everyone, from professional foresters to the layperson, who works with forests and needs to measure them no matter where in the world, will appreciate this book. It summarises modern forest measurement techniques and describes why forests are measured, how to measure them, and the basis of the science behind these techniques. Professor Phil West has been a forest scientist for over 30 years. His research speciality is the mathematical modelling of forest growth behaviour. He is presently a forestry consultant and teaches forest measurement in the forestry school of Southern Cross University in northern New South Wales, Australia.







Individual Tree Crown Delineation Using Multispectral LiDAR Data


Book Description

In this study, multispectral Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data were utilized to improve delineation of individual tree crowns (ITC) as an important step in individual tree analysis. A framework to integrate spectral and height information for ITC delineation was proposed, and the multi-scale algorithm for treetop detection developed in one of our previous studies was improved. In addition, an advanced region-based segmentation method that used detected treetops as seeds was proposed for segmentation of individual crowns based on their spectral, contextual, and height information.




Digital Airborne Camera


Book Description

Digital airborne cameras are now penetrating the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing. Due to the last decade’s results in research and development in the fields of for instance detector technology, computing power, memory capacity position and orientation measurement it is now possible to generate with this new generation of airborne cameras different sets of geometric and spectral data with high geometric and radiometric resolutions within a single flight. This is a decisive advantage as compared to film based airborne cameras. The linear characteristic of the opto-electronic converters is the basis for the transition from an imaging camera to an images generating measuring instrument. Because of the direct digital processing chain from the airborne camera to the data products there is no need for the processes of chemical film development and digitising the film information. Failure sources as well as investments and staff costs are avoided. But the effective use of this new technology requires the knowledge of the features of the image and information generation, its possibilities and its restrictions. This book describes all components of a digital airborne camera from the object to be imaged to the mass memory device. So the image quality influencing processes in nature are described, as for instance the reflection of the electromagnetic sun spectrum at the objects to be imaged and the influence of the atmosphere. Also, the essential features of the new digital sensor system, their characteristics and parameters, are addressed and put into the system context. The complexity of the cooperation of all camera components, as for instance optics, filters, detector elements, analogue and digital electronics, software and so forth, becomes transparent. The book includes also the description of example systems.