The role of integrated information acquisition and management in the analysis of coastal ecosystem change

This book chapter represents a synthesis of the work which started in my PhD and which has been the conceptual basis for all of my research since 1993. The chapter presents a method for scientists and managers to use for selecting the type of remotely sensed data to use to meet their information needs associated with a mapping, monitoring or modelling application. The work draws on results from several of my ARC projects, CRC Rainforest and Coastal projects and theses of P.Scarth , K.Joyce and C.Roelfsema

Environment Workshops 2013. Oak forests coping with global change: ecology and management

Congreso celebrado del 30 de septiembre-2 de octubre 2013, en Baeza (Jaén), España.The genus Quercus has about 500 species distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Oak forests and woodlands are very abundant in the Mediterranean region and are vital providing a variety of ecosystem services. They provide with raw materials like cork, wood and fuel, and fodder for wild and domestic animals. The silvopastoral system known as “dehesa” provides habitats for wild animals and contributes to a higher biodiversity at the landscape scale. Oak trees provide a climate regulating service by their capacity to sequester carbon and therefore to mitigate the effects of climatic change. There is an increasing demand for cultural services provided by oak woodlands, mainly for recreation, ecotourism, and to enjoy their aesthetic and spiritual values. However, Global Change is affecting negatively oak forests and therefore diminishing their ecosystem services and in consequence human wellbeing. Main drivers are: land use change, introduction of exotic pathogens, air and soil pollution deteriorating oak health, and climatic change, in particular the reduction of rainfall. The aims of the workshop are to analyse the vulnerability and resilience of Quercus species coping with Global Change; to review the main ecological processes related with the regeneration of oaks and how they influence the recruitment and persistence of oak forests; to discuss the different management options for coping with the decline of oak forests and to assure their sustainability, showing case studies from Spain, Portugal and Mexico.Peer reviewe

Landsliding and its multiscale influence on mountainscapes

Landsliding is a complex process that modifies mountainscapes worldwide. Its severe and sometimes long-lasting negative effects contrast with the less-documented positive effects on ecosystems, raising numerous questions about the dual role of landsliding, the feedbacks between biotic and geomorphic processes, and, ultimately, the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms. We present a conceptual model in which feedbacks between biotic and geomorphic processes, landslides, and ecosystem attributes are hypothesized to drive the dynamics of mountain ecosystems at multiple scales. This model is used to integrate and synthesize a rich, but fragmented, body of literature generated in different disciplines, and to highlight the need for profitable collaborations between biologists and geoscientists. Such efforts should help identify attributes that contribute to the resilience of mountain ecosystems, and also should help in conservation, restoration, and hazard assessment. Given the sensitivity of mountains to land-use and global climate change, these endeavors are both relevant and timel

Earth resources: A continuing bibliography with indexes (issue 52)

This bibliography lists 454 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between October 1 and December 31, 1986. Emphasis is placed on the use of remote sensing and geophysical instrumentation in spacecraft and aircraft to survey and inventory natural resources and urban areas. Subject matter is grouped according to agriculture and forestry, environmental changes and cultural resources, geodesy and cartography, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water management, data processing and distribution systems, instrumentation and sensors, and economic analysis

Using airborne LiDAR Survey to explore historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean

This article describes what appears to be the first archaeological application of airborne LiDAR survey to historic-era landscapes in the Caribbean archipelago, on the island of Montserrat. LiDAR is proving invaluable in extending the reach of traditional pedestrian survey into less favorable areas, such as those covered by dense neotropical forest and by ashfall from the past two decades of active eruptions by the Soufrière Hills volcano, and to sites in localities that are inaccessible on account of volcanic dangers. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of the research: first, the importance of ongoing, real-time interaction between the LiDAR analyst and the archaeological team in the field; and second, the advantages of exploiting the full potential of the three-dimensional LiDAR point cloud data for purposes of the visualization of archaeological sites and features