Remote sensing enabled essential biodiversity variables for biodiversity assessment and monitoring: technological advancement and potentials

Reddy, C. Sudhakar; Ayushi, Kurian; Srivastava, Gaurav; Singhal, Jayant; Varghese, A. O.; Padalia, Hitendra; Narayanan, Ayyappan; Rajashekar, G.; Jha, Chandra Shekhar; Rao, Preeti

doi:10.1007/s10531-020-02073-8

Cited by 41 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Approaches based on remote sensing data allows for affordable and continuous estimations of biodiversity across large areas, which is fundamental to cope with ongoing global change (Jetz et al ., 2016; Reddy et al ., 2021). Using fine-scale airborne multispectral remote-sensed images on coastal dune ecosystems, we explored the ability of remote sensed imagery in approximating diversity patterns across different spatial scale and along environmental gradient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant spectral diversity from high-resolution multispectral imagery detects functional diversity patterns in coastal dune communities

Beccari

Carmona

Tordoni

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Remote sensing is a fundamental tool to monitor biodiversity over large spatial extents. However, it is still not clear whether spectral diversity (SD - variation of spectral response across a set of pixels) may represent a fast and reliable proxy for different biodiversity facets such as taxonomic (TD) and functional diversity (FD) across different spatial scales. We used fine resolution (3 cm) multispectral imagery on coastal dune communities in Italy to explore SD patterns across spatial scales and assess SD relationships with TD and FD along the environmental gradient. We measured TD as species richness, while SD and FD were computed using probability densities functions based on pixels and species position in multivariate spaces based on pixel values and traits, respectively. We assessed how SD is related to TD and FD, we compared SD and FD patterns in multivariate space occupation, and we explored diversity patterns across spatial scales using additive partitioning (i.e., plot, transect, and study area). We found a strong correspondence between the patterns of occupation of the functional and spectral spaces and significant relationships were found along the environmental gradient. TD showed no significant relationships with SD. However, TD and SD showed higher variation at broader scale while most of FD variation occurred at plot level. By measuring FD and SD with a common methodological framework, we demonstrate the potential of SD in approximating functional patterns in plant communities. We show that SD can retrieve information about FD at very small scale, which would otherwise require very intensive sampling efforts. Overall, we show that SD retrieved using high-resolution images is able to capture different aspects of FD, so that the occupation of the spectral space is analogous to the occupation of the functional space. Studying the occupation of both spectral and functional space brings a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence the distribution and abundance of plant species across environmental gradients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant spectral diversity from high-resolution multispectral imagery detects functional diversity patterns in coastal dune communities

Beccari

Carmona

Tordoni

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…In addition to the above-mentioned opportunities, observations from SRS also provide opportunities for developing new workflows (Reddy et al, 2021). To emphasize these opportunities for the scientific community (Bates and Privette, 2012;Bojinski and Richter, 2010), rather than emphasizing the maintenance of current missions by space agencies (Skidmore et al, 2021), we used the immaturity criteria which revealed a high priority of SRS products related to plant physiology and primary productivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing terrestrial biodiversity monitoring with satellite remote sensing in the context of the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework

Timmermans

Kissling

2022

Preprint

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Satellite remote sensing (SRS) provides huge potential for tracking progress towards achieving global conservation targets and goals. To make a transformative impact, SRS workflows should be tailored towards the requirements of ecological users and policymakers. Here, we assess requirements from the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) by ranking the use of SRS products in biodiversity indicator workflows. Fifty unique indicators were identified for tracking the state of terrestrial biodiversity, spanning two goals and six targets across seventeen target components. Twentynine indicators shared enough information to analyse workflows and to classify underlying (spatial information) products into the Essential Biodiversity Variable (EBV) framework. We further quantified the policy relevance of EBVs by counting EBV usage across the CBD goals and targets. Combined with scores on the technical feasibility, accuracy, and immaturity of SRS products, we then identified which EBVs offer promising opportunities for workflow development from SRS. Top priority SRS products included the fraction of vegetation cover, plant area index profile, above-ground biomass, foliar N/P/K content, land cover (vegetation type), leaf area index, carbon cycle (above-ground biomass), chlorophyll content & flux, ecosystem fragmentation, ecosystem structural variance, and gross primary productivity. Our results showed that spatial information products related to ecosystem distribution, live cover fraction and species distribution EBVs are currently most widely used in the CBD context, while primary production and physiology EBVs remain under-used. To advance the monitoring of ecosystem distributions, harmonized and high resolution SRS products with higher thematic detail on specific ecosystems and habitat types are needed. Likewise, live cover fraction EBVs (e.g. fraction of vegetation cover and plant area index profile) would require developing and harmonizing ecosystem taxonomies and relating the fraction of vegetation (functional) types to a desired ecosystem reference state. Finally, to enable the monitoring of plant species phenology, stoichiometry and alien invasive species (impact), novel workflows need to combine very high resolution and multi-spectral satellite observations for mapping and monitoring the physiological traits of plant species (e.g. leaf area index, chlorophyll content & flux, and foliar N/P/K content). Capitalizing on these opportunities for SRS-enabled EBVs could improve the tracking of CBD goals and targets, e.g. in the context of ecosystem restoration, productivity and sustainability of agricultural and forested ecosystems, effective management of protected areas, reduction of species extinction rates, or a better management of the impact of alien invasive species.

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“…This can involve technological advances that make data gathering more efficient. For example, remote sensing using satellite, drone and LiDAR imagery can provide granular, non-invasive assessments of metrics such as vegetation type and structure, aboveground biomass and primary productivity (Reddy et al, 2021). Similarly, passive acoustic monitoring permits large temporal and spatial scopes for sampling certain taxonomic groups (Sugai et al, 2019), and environmental DNA (eDNA) can enable more species to be identified with reduced effort, can sample aquatic, belowground, and aboveground taxonomic richness (Ruppert et al, 2019), and can be used to explore genetic diversity (e.g., Iso-Touro et al, 2021).…”

Section: Research On Cost-effective Monitoring Technologies For Enhan...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: Characterising the evidence base

Key

Smith

Turner

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised for their potential to address both the climate and biodiversity crises. Both these outcomes rely on the capacity of NbS to support and enhance the health of an ecosystem: its biodiversity, the condition of its abiotic and biotic elements, and its capacity to continue to function despite environmental change. However, while understanding of ecosystem health outcomes of NbS for climate change mitigation has developed in recent years, the outcomes of those implemented for adaptation remain poorly understood. To address this, we systematically reviewed the outcomes of 109 nature-based interventions for climate change adaptation using 33 indicators of ecosystem health across eight broad categories (e.g., diversity, biomass, ecosystem composition). We showed that 88% of interventions with reported positive outcomes for climate change adaptation also reported benefits for ecosystem health. We also showed that interventions were associated with a 67% average increase in species richness. All eight studies that reported benefits for both climate change mitigation and adaptation also supported ecosystem health, leading to a “triple win.” However, there were also trade-offs, mainly for forest management and creation of novel ecosystems such as monoculture plantations of non-native species. Our review highlights two key limitations in our understanding of the outcomes of NbS for ecosystem health. First, a limited selection of metrics are used and these rarely include key aspects such as functional diversity and habitat connectivity. Second, taxonomic coverage is limited: 50% of interventions only had evidence for effects on plants, and 57% of outcomes did not distinguish between native and non-native species. We make suggestions of how to improve assessments of the ecosystem health outcomes of NbS, as well as policy recommendations to enable the upscaling of NbS that support flourishing and resilient ecosystems, and are effective in addressing both climate and biodiversity goals.

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Remote sensing enabled essential biodiversity variables for biodiversity assessment and monitoring: technological advancement and potentials

Cited by 41 publications

References 58 publications

Plant spectral diversity from high-resolution multispectral imagery detects functional diversity patterns in coastal dune communities

Plant spectral diversity from high-resolution multispectral imagery detects functional diversity patterns in coastal dune communities

Advancing terrestrial biodiversity monitoring with satellite remote sensing in the context of the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework

Biodiversity outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: Characterising the evidence base

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