Satellite Remote Sensing for Conservation Action : Case Studies from Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Satellite remote sensing captures invaluable information for conservation. This book presents case studies across varying ecosystems where conservation practitioners have successfully utilised remote sensing to inform management decisions. It highlights lessons learned, enabling readers to benefit from first hand commentary and experience.

Satellite remote sensing presents an amazing opportunity to inform biodiversity conservation by inexpensively gathering repeated monitoring information for vast areas of the Earth. However, these observations first need processing and interpretation if they are to inform conservation action. Through a series of case studies, this book presents detailed examples of the application of satellite remote sensing, covering both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, to conservation. The authors describe how collaboration between the remote sensing and conservation communities makes satellite data functional for operational conservation, and provide concrete examples of the lessons learned in addition to the scientific details. The editors, one at NASA and the other at a conservation NGO, have brought together leading researchers in conservation remote sensing to share their experiences from project development through to application, and emphasise the human side of these projects.