Assessment of Night-Time Lighting for Global Terrestrial Protected and Wilderness Areas

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) play an important role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem integrity. However, human development has threatened and affected the function and effectiveness of PAs. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) night-time stable light (NTL) data have proven to be an effective indicator of the intensity and change of human-induced urban development over a long time span and at a larger spatial scale. We used the NTL data from 1992 to 2013 to characterize the human-induced urban development and studied the spatial and temporal variation of the NTL of global terrestrial PAs. We selected seven types of PAs defined by the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN), including strict nature reserve (Ia), wilderness area (Ib), national park (II), natural monument or feature (III), habitat/species management area (IV), protected landscape/seascape (V), and protected area with sustainable use of natural resources (VI). We evaluated the NTL digital number (DN) in PAs and their surrounding buffer zones, i.e., 0–1 km, 1–5 km, 5–10 km, 10–25 km, 25–50 km, and 50–100 km. The results revealed the level, growth rate, trend, and distribution pattern of NTL in PAs. Within PAs, areas of types V and Ib had the highest and lowest NTL levels, respectively. In the surrounding 1–100 km buffer zones, type V PAs also had the highest NTL level, but type VI PAs had the lowest NTL level. The NTL level in the areas surrounding PAs was higher than that within PAs. Types Ia and III PAs showed the highest and lowest NTL growth rate from 1992 to 2013, respectively, both inside and outside of PAs. The NTL distributions surrounding the Ib and VI PAs were different from other types. The areas close to Ib and VI boundaries, i.e., in the 0–25 km buffer zones, showed lower NTL levels, for which the highest NTL level was observed within the 25–100 km buffer zone. However, other types of PAs showed the opposite NTL patterns. The NTL level was lower in the distant buffer zones, and the lowest night light was within the 1–25 km buffer zones. Globally, 6.9% of PAs are being affected by NTL. Conditions of wilderness areas, e.g., high latitude regions, Tibetan Plateau, Amazon, and Caribbean, are the least affected by NTL. The PAs in Europe, Asia, and North America are more affected by NTL than South America, Africa, and Oceania.

Remote Sensing Applications in Monitoring of Protected Areas: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…In terms of the large-scale observation ability of remote sensing, the technology is becoming a common practice for monitoring the characteristics and change of land surface properties of PAs [13]. For example, remote sensing has been applied to the assessment of night-time lighting within and surrounding global terrestrial PAs and wilderness areas [14], continuous monitoring of the landscape dynamics of national parks by Landsat-based approaches [15][16][17][18][19], the evaluation of forest dynamics within and around the Olympic National Park using time-series Landsat observations [20], and monitoring the wildlife habitat changes in Kejimkujik National Park and the National Historic Site in southern Nova Scotia of the Canadian Atlantic Coastal Uplands Natural Region [21]. One particular advantage that remote sensing can provide for the inventory and monitoring of protected areas is information to better understand the past and current status, the changes that occurred under different impacting factors and management practices, the trends of changes in comparison with those in the adjacent areas, and the implications of changes on ecosystem functions [22][23][24].…”

Remote Sensing Applications in Monitoring of Protected Areas

“…The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) night-time stable light (NTL) has been proven to be an effective indicator of the intensity and change of human-induced urban development over a long time span and at a larger spatial scale [115]. The study by Fan et al [116] used the NTL data from 1992 to 2013 to characterize the human-induced urban development and studied the spatial and temporal variation of the NTL of global terrestrial PAs. The study selected seven types of PAs defined by the IUCN, including the strict nature reserve (Ia), the wilderness area (Ib), the national park (II), the natural monument or feature (III), the habitat/species management area (IV), the protected landscape/seascape (V), and the protected area with a sustainable use of natural resources (VI).…”

Remote Sensing Applications in Monitoring of Protected Areas

“…The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime stable light (NTL) has been proven to be an effective indicator of the intensity and change of human-induced urban development over a long time span and at a larger spatial scale [115]. The study by Fan et al [116] used the NTL data from 1992 to 2013 to characterize the human-induced urban development and studied the spatial and temporal variation of the NTL of global terrestrial PAs. The study selected seven types of PAs defined by the IUCN, including the strict nature reserve (Ia), the wilderness area (Ib), the national park (II), the natural monument or feature (III), the habitat/species management area (IV), the protected landscape/seascape (V), and the protected area with a sustainable use of natural resources (VI).…”