GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Biogeography and Ecology


Book Description

In recent years, the conservation of tropical forests has received worldwide publicity whereas effective forest management, particularly for timber extraction, has attracted little attention and gained some notoriety. The overall aim of the present paper was to examine how environmental micro-variation in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve of Belize can influence species distribution and thereby inform management strategy. The paper deals first with the background to forest management in Belize, then considers the methodology used in the present study and fin~~ly assesses the preliminary results. The specific objectives are: (1) to assess the effects of changing scale on the variability of selected individual soil properties in forest plots within the same vegetation class; and (2) to examine the variation in soil properties and tree species distribution, and to integrate environmental and ecological data over a range of scales. BACKGROUND Whereas the global and regional distribution of tropical forests is broadly governed by climatic and altitudinal variation, individual forest tracts need to consider a range of other, locally important factors to explain species distribution and change. With very high species diversity, tropical forests present a major challenge in the attempt to unravel controlling factors in distribution and growth (Swaine et aI. 1987). Research that attempts to explain diversity has looked at species distribution according to a range of factors, with a general recognition that soil fertility plays a significant if ill defined role (Swaine 1996).







Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing


Book Description

In an age of unprecedented proliferation of data from disparate sources the urgency is to create efficient methodologies that can optimise data combinations and at the same time solve increasingly complex application problems. Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing explores the tremendous potential that lies along the interface between GIS and remote sensing for activating interoperable databases and instigating information interchange. It concentrates on the rigorous and meticulous aspects of analytical data matching and thematic compatibility - the true roots of all branches of GIS/remote sensing applications. However closer harmonization is tempered by numerous technical and institutional issues, including scale incompatibility, measurement disparities, and the inescapable notion that data from GIS and remote sensing essentially represent diametrically opposing conceptual views of reality. The first part of the book defines and characterises GIS and remote sensing and presents the reader with an awareness of the many scale, taxonomical and analytical problems when attempting integration. The second part of the book moves on to demonstrate the benefits and costs of integration across a number of human and environmental applications. This book is an invaluable reference for students and professionals dealing not only with GIS and remote sensing, but also computer science, civil engineering, environmental science and urban planning within the academic, governmental and commercial/business sectors.




Wetland and Environmental Applications of GIS


Book Description

This new book presents powerful techniques that can be used to address issues and problems related to wetlands and surface waters. It is the first book of its kind to address inventory and management of wetlands and water quality problems using GIS and remote sensing technologies. Wetland and Environmental Applications of GIS describes a variety of techniques, applications, and case studies for evaluating wetland and surface water characteristics at the landscape scale. The book details wetland and environmentally-oriented surface water resource studies using spatial and spectral based technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, computer modeling, and image display. Introductory material is included in the first section to provide a common background and to refresh or introduce concepts to the professional. The second section details applications of these technologies in studies of wetlands, including the use of GIS and archival satellite data in evaluating and measuring sediment types, water depth, and environmental change in the coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes. The third section addresses various environmental applications of GIS, such as locating non-point pollution sources and managing oil spills. The final section supplies additional information and applications, with particular emphasis on potential contributions of remote sensing.




Spatial Analysis in Field Primatology


Book Description

A primatologist's guide to using geographic information systems (GIS); from mapping and field accuracy, to tracking travel routes and the impact of logging.




The SAGE Handbook of Biogeography


Book Description

A superb resource for understanding the diversity of the modern discipline of biogeography, and its history and future, especially within geography departments. I expect to refer to it often. - Professor Sally Horn, University of Tennessee "As you browse through this fine book you will be struck by the diverse topics that biogeographers investigate and the many research methods they use.... Biogeography is interdisciplinary, and a commonly-voiced concern is that one biogeographer may not readily understand another′s research findings. A handbook like this is important for synthesising, situating, explaining and evaluating a large literature, and pointing the reader to informative publications." - Geographical Research "A valuable contribution in both a research and teaching context. If you are biologically trained, it provides an extensive look into the geographical tradition of biogeography, covering some topics that may be less familiar to those with an evolution/ecology background. Alternatively, if you are a geography student, researcher, or lecturer, it will provide a useful reference and will be invaluable to the non-biogeographer who suddenly has the teaching of an introductory biogeography course thrust upon them." - Adam C. Algar, Frontiers of Biogeography The SAGE Handbook of Biogeography is a manual for scoping the past, present and future of biogeography that enable readers to consider, where relevant, how similar biogeographical issues are tackled by researchers in different ′schools′. In line with the concept of all SAGE Handbooks, this is a retrospective and prospective overview of biogeography that will: Consider the main areas of biogeography researched by geographers Detail a global perspective by incorporating the work of different schools of biogeographers Ecplore the divergent evolution of biogeography as a discipline and consider how this diversity can be harnessed Examine the interdisciplinary debates that biogeographers are contributing to within geography and the biological sciences. Aimed at an international audience of research students, academics, researchers and practitioners in biogeography, the text will attract interest from environmental scientists, ecologists, biologists and geographers alike.




Analysis of Urban Growth and Sprawl from Remote Sensing Data


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive discussion on urban growth and sprawl, and how they can be analyzed using remote sensing imageries. It compiles views of numerous researchers that help in understanding the urban growth and sprawl; their patterns, process, causes, consequences, and countermeasures; how remote sensing data and geographic information system techniques can be used in mapping, monitoring, measuring, analyzing, and simulating the urban growth and sprawl and what are the merits and demerits of available methods and models. This book will be of value for the scientists and researchers engaged in urban geographic research, especially using remote sensing imageries. This book will serve as a rigours literature review for them. Post graduate students of urban geography or urban/regional planning may refer this book as additional studies. This book may help the academicians for preparing lecture notes and delivering lectures. Industry professionals may also be benefited from the discussed methods and models along with numerous citations.




Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests


Book Description

Though seasonally dry tropical forests are equally as important to global biodiversity as tropical rainforests, and are one of the most representative and highly endangered ecosystems in Latin America, knowledge about them remains limited because of the relative paucity of attention paid to them by scientists and researchers and a lack of published information on the subject. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests seeks to address this shortcoming by bringing together a range of experts in diverse fields including biology, ecology, biogeography, and biogeochemistry, to review, synthesize, and explain the current state of our collective knowledge on the ecology and conservation of seasonally dry tropical forests. The book offers a synthetic and cross-disciplinary review of recent work with an expansive scope, including sections on distribution, diversity, ecosystem function, and human impacts. Throughout, contributors emphasize conservation issues, particularly emerging threats and promising solutions, with key chapters on climate change, fragmentation, restoration, ecosystem services, and sustainable use. Seasonally dry tropical forests are extremely rich in biodiversity, and are seriously threatened. They represent scientific terrain that is poorly explored, and there is an urgent need for increased understanding of the system's basic ecology. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests represents an important step in bringing together the most current scientific information about this vital ecosystem and disseminating it to the scientific and conservation communities.







Remote Sensing Image Analysis: Including the Spatial Domain


Book Description

Remote Sensing image analysis is mostly done using only spectral information on a pixel by pixel basis. Information captured in neighbouring cells, or information about patterns surrounding the pixel of interest often provides useful supplementary information. This book presents a wide range of innovative and advanced image processing methods for including spatial information, captured by neighbouring pixels in remotely sensed images, to improve image interpretation or image classification. Presented methods include different types of variogram analysis, various methods for texture quantification, smart kernel operators, pattern recognition techniques, image segmentation methods, sub-pixel methods, wavelets and advanced spectral mixture analysis techniques. Apart from explaining the working methods in detail a wide range of applications is presented covering land cover and land use mapping, environmental applications such as heavy metal pollution, urban mapping and geological applications to detect hydrocarbon seeps. The book is meant for professionals, PhD students and graduates who use remote sensing image analysis, image interpretation and image classification in their work related to disciplines such as geography, geology, botany, ecology, forestry, cartography, soil science, engineering and urban and regional planning.