Satellite remote sensing of ecosystem functions: opportunities, challenges and way forward

Pettorelli, Nathalie; Bühne, Henrike Schulte to; Tulloch, Ayesha I. T.; Dubois, Grégoire; Macinnis‐Ng, Cate; Queirós, Ana M.; Keith, David A.; Wegmann, Martin; Schrodt, Franziska; Stellmes, Marion; Sonnenschein, Ruth; Geller, Gary N.; Roy, Shovonlal; Somers, Ben; Murray, Nicholas J.; Bland, Lucie M.; Geijzendorffer, Ilse R.; Kerr, Jeremy T.; Broszeit, Stefanie; Leitão, Pedro J.; Duncan, Clare; Serafy, Ghada El; He, Kate S.; Blanchard, Julia L.; Lucas, Richard; Mairota, Paola; Webb, Thomas J.; Nicholson, Emily

doi:10.1002/rse2.59

Cited by 218 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 113 publications

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“…Kupschus, Schratzberger, & Righton, 2016) has grown substantially in the past decade, and these efforts could be used to support the identification of a relevant and practical framework for the monitoring and evaluation of rewilding projects. Satellite remote sensing, for example, offers promising avenues for the cost-effective monitoring of ecosystem processes, functions and services, and could help inform such a framework (Cord et al, 2017;Pettorelli et al, 2018).…”

Section: Identification and Characterisation Of The Likely Social Impmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making rewilding fit for policy

Pettorelli

Barlow

Stephens

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Abstract1. Rewilding, here defined as "the reorganisation of biota and ecosystem processes to set an identified social-ecological system on a preferred trajectory, leading to the self-sustaining provision of ecosystem services with minimal ongoing management," is increasingly considered as an environmental management option, with potential for enhancing both biodiversity and ecosystem services.2. Despite burgeoning interest in the concept, there are uncertainties and difficulties associated with the practical implementation of rewilding projects, while the evidence available for facilitating sound decision-making for rewilding initiatives remains elusive.3. We identify five key research areas to inform the implementation of future rewilding initiatives: increased understanding of the links between actions and impacts; improved risk assessment processes, through, for example, better definition and quantification of ecological risks; improved predictions of spatio-temporal variation in potential economic costs and associated benefits; better identification and characterisation of the likely social impacts of a given rewilding project; and facilitated emergence of a comprehensive and practical framework for the monitoring and evaluation of rewilding projects. Policy implications.Environmental legislation is commonly based on a "compositionalist" paradigm itself predicated on the preservation of historical conditions characterised by the presence of particular species assemblages and habitat types.However, global environmental change is driving some ecosystems beyond their limits so that restoration to historical benchmarks or modern likely equivalents may no longer be an option. This means that the current environmental policy context could present barriers to the broad implementation of rewilding projects. To progress the global rewilding agenda, a better appreciation of current policy opportunities and constraints is required. This, together with a clear definition of rewilding and a scientifically robust rationale for its local implementation, is a prerequisite to engage governments in revising legislation where required to facilitate the operationalisation of rewilding.

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Section: Identification and Characterisation Of The Likely Social Impmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making rewilding fit for policy

Pettorelli

Barlow

Stephens

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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140

118

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“…The most commonly used mapping systems and tools in plant management are traditional ground-based visual methods, handheld GPS (Global Positioning System), aerial and other remote methods [37], and innovative high-definition video systems [38]. Several applications (apps) for tracking invasive species with mobile smart phones have been developed in the USA (including iMapInvasives, IPAlert, IveGot1, IceGot1, Southeast Early Detection Network SEEDN, EDDMapS, What's Invasive, and Stink Bug Scout), and are used as invasive species management tools (http://ecospotinvasivespecies.weebly.com/mobile-apps-used-to-track-invasive-species.html).…”

Section: Case Study-biological Recording Of Ailanthus Altissimamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are complex and advanced systems for invasive species recording and distribution, including remote sensing (RS) [48], geographical information systems (GIS) [49][50][51][52], and geospatial technologies [53], but their application is expensive and reserved for the scientific community or highly skilled technicians, and are not of practical use at the local scale. Ailanthus altissima is mentioned among other invasive species to be tested for satellite remote sensing biodiversity evaluation [37], but the available parameters for imagery sources and classification techniques of remote sensing imagery related to vegetation mapping of this species are still in development.…”

Section: Harmfulnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen Science as a Tool in Biological Recording—A Case Study of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle

Sladonja

Poljuha

2018

Forests

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Non-native invasive species frequently appear in urban and non-urban ecosystems and may become a threat to biodiversity. Some of these newcomers are introduced accidentally, and others are introduced through a sequence of events caused by conscious human decisions. Involving the general public in biodiversity preservation activities could prevent the negative consequences of these actions. Accurate and reliable data collecting is the first step in invasive species management, and citizen science can be a useful tool to collect data and engage the public in science. We present a case study of biological recording of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) using a participatory citizen model. The first goal in this case study was to develop a cheap, widely accessible, and effective inventory method, and to test it by mapping tree of heaven in Croatia. A total of 90.61 km of roads and trails was mapped; 20 single plants and 19 multi-plant clusters (mapped as polygons) were detected. The total infested area was 2610 m 2 . The second goal was to educate citizens and raise awareness of this invasive species. The developed tool and suggested approach aided in improving invasive risk management in accordance with citizen science principles and can be applied to other species or areas.

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“…Field spectroscopy, after careful calibration of retrieval models, may provide such means to rapidly assess biochemical composition of leaves and vegetation canopies, thus augmenting sampling extent and/or spatial and temporal resolution (Asner & Martin, ; Feilhauer, Somers, & van der Linden, ; Serbin, Singh, McNeil, Kingdon, & Townsend, ). Nevertheless, despite the high potential of remote sensing to assess ecosystem functioning (Pettorelli et al., ; Schimel, Asner, & Moorcroft, ; Schneider et al., ) including impacts of invasive species (Asner, Jones, Martin, Knapp, & Hughes, ), there is still a research gap regarding trait‐based approaches that shed light on the mechanisms and processes of invasions (Niphadkar & Nagendra, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive acacias differ from native dune species in the hyperspectral/biochemical trait space

Große‐Stoltenberg

Hellmann

Thiele

et al. 2018

J Vegetation Science

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Aim The impact of invasive species may depend on dissimilarity of their functional traits relative to the native community. Therefore, comparing species traits in a multidimensional space can help to better understand invader impacts, but novel methods are needed to effectively measure multiple traits across diverse plant communities. The main aim was to assess biochemical leaf parameters based on field spectra in a whole‐community approach. Our specific objectives were to assess (1) biochemical differentiation within the plant community, (2) accuracy of spectroscopic prediction models of biochemical parameters, and (3) ability to depict the multivariate differentiation using field spectroscopy. Location Mediterranean dune ecosystems, Atlantic coast, southwest Portugal. Methods We analysed leaf biomass of 18 species, including two invasive acacias, for C, δ13C, N, δ15N, lignin, fibre and tannin. Additionally, we collected leaf and canopy field spectra of each sampled plant. We used partial least squares (PLS) regression to predict biochemical parameters from field spectra. Further, we assessed the biochemical differentiation of the species using PCA based on wet chemically determined as well as spectroscopically predicted values. Results We found high biochemical variation among species and, in particular, marked trait dissimilarity between invasive Acacia spp. and native species, primarily with respect to N content. Biochemical parameters were predicted successfully based on field spectra. Prediction accuracies were particularly high with C, δ13C, N and tannin. A PCA of biochemical parameters showed that invasive Acacia spp. were distinct from native species of the same life form, but grouped with native dwarf shrubs. This pattern was accurately reproduced by a PCA using spectroscopically predicted values. Conclusions Invasive Acacia spp. have different leaf traits compared to native species of similar growth form. Their trait dissimilarity likely exacerbates their impacts on the ecosystem. This trait dissimilarity in leaf biochemistry can be accurately predicted with hyperspectral whole‐community models. Thus, field spectroscopy can substantially increase the spatial and temporal resolution of measurements and hence facilitate assessments of ecosystem functioning and invader impacts at ecosystem scale.

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Satellite remote sensing of ecosystem functions: opportunities, challenges and way forward

Cited by 218 publications

References 113 publications

Making rewilding fit for policy

Making rewilding fit for policy

Citizen Science as a Tool in Biological Recording—A Case Study of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle

Invasive acacias differ from native dune species in the hyperspectral/biochemical trait space

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