Earth Observation for biodiversity surveillance: technology for policy implementation
Symposium organised by:
Emilio Padoa-Schioppa, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Italy.
emilio.padoaschioppa@unimib.it
Paola Mairota, University of Bari, Department of Agro-Environmental and Territorial Sciences, Italy.
paola.mairota@uniba.it
Rob Jongman, Alterra Wageningen UR, Netherlands.
rob.jongman@wur.nl
Palma Blonda, National Research Council, Institute of Intelligent Systems for Automation (CNR-ISSIA), Bari, Italy.
blonda@ba.issia.cnr.it
Stefan Lang, Z_GIS, University of Salzburg.
stefan.lang@sbg.ac.at
Summary
The symposium will explore new techniques in Earth Observation systems for biodiversity surveillance. It will consider examples operating at different spatial and temporal scales and using a wide range of different techniques including High Resolution, Very High Resolution and LiDAR. Developing policy informed by monitoring and modelling evidence will also be discussed.
Description
Habitat monitoring is a central issue for conservation. It is also essential for reporting to inform European, national and local policies; to detect and quantify landscape and habitat transformations and to identify threats to biodiversity.
Earth Observation systems may give an increasingly important contribution to monitoring because observing and processing capacities have increased in recent years. The technology and the scientific insights for both in situ and remote sensing monitoring are changing rapidly.
The symposium will explore Earth Observation for habitat monitoring and tracking landscape transformations. It will consider examples of operating at different spatial and temporal scales and using a wide range of different techniques including High Resolution, Very High Resolution and LiDAR.
The symposium will consider Earth Observation in the context of the need for agreed standards in habitat classification, in order to allow comparison among countries and regions at continental and global scales. It will also consider modelling at landscape and habitat scales to investigate linkages with species of conservation concern and invasive non-native species.
The symposium welcomes papers in five main areas: earth observation for habitat monitoring; habitat and landscape modelling; habitat classification and the need for standards; defining and assessing pressures through Earth Observation; and developing policy informed by monitoring and modelling evidence.
Impact
This symposium will include results of major research projects including BIO_SOS and MS.MONINA, two parallel projects financed by the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). A special issue of the online, open access, ISI and Scopus indexed Journal of Biogeosciences and Forestry (iForest) published by The Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology will be based on the symposium.