Selecting and conserving lands for biodiversity: The role of remote sensing

A major focus of conservation is on protecting areas to ensure the persistence of biological diversity. Because such areas may be large, not easily accessible, subject to change, and sensitive to the surrounding landscape, remote sensing can be a valuable tool in establishing and managing protected areas. We describe three case studies to illustrate how remote sensing can contribute to setting priorities for conservation actions, monitoring the status of conservation targets, and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation strategies. In the Connecticut River watershed, remote sensing has been used to assess flood regimes and identify key areas of floodplain forests and their context for conservation planning. At Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, remote sensing has provided information to assess the effectiveness of management strategies to restore fire to the longleaf pine sandhills ecosystem, control invasive species, and prioritize annual prescribed burns. In eastern US forests, remote sensing is being used to evaluate the ecological condition and changes at properties where direct access would be difficult. As the resolution and capacities of remote-sensing technology continue to develop, however, several issues are becoming increasingly important. It is essential that the spatial and temporal resolution of remote-sensing data be matched to the relevant scales of biodiversity, major threats, and management actions. Data layers must be compatible, both in scale and in measurement properties, and key patterns must be distinguished from irrelevant detail, especially at the finer scales of application in local management. Combining remote sensing with ground surveys can expand the array of information used in management and contribute to the ecological interpretation of remote-sensing data. Because conservation funds are always limited, remote sensing also must be cost effective. This requires balancing the wealth of detail afforded by ever-finer resolution of remote-sensing data with what is actually needed to implement sound conservation and management. Remote sensing is a valuable tool, but it is not a panacea for all of the challenges of conservation monitoring and management

Effects of Restoration Techniques on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Florida Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Sandhill Forests

Historic fire suppression and intensive forest management in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) sandhill forests has resulted in hardwood encroachment and degradation of this fire-dependent ecosystem. Active management is now required to restore native community structure and composition, but little is known about the long-term impacts of typical restoration techniques on ecosystem properties. In 1994, the Longleaf Pine Restoration Project (LPRP) was established in fire-excluded longleaf pine sandhills of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, to explore the effects of restoration treatments on plant and animal community composition and soil processes. Experimental treatments applied included three hardwood reduction techniques and delayed burn. Reference sites were concurrently monitored. Fifteen years later, we revisited the LPRP plots to determine whether soil processes showed lasting treatment effects. This study showed that there were no differences in soil C and N between the reference and the fire-suppressed plots prior to the treatments, suggesting that soil C and N were relatively resistant to degradation. This study also showed that the restoration treatments had a significant effect by reducing soil C, but this effect was only short-lived (<3 years). In addition, a MRPP (multi-response permutation procedure) analysis showed that only the herbicide treatment was still different from the reference plots 15 years after the initial treatments. Thus, this study suggests that repeated fires (or lack of) or hardwood removal treatments have little detectable effect on soil nutrients in these nutrient-poor ecosystems

Appendix B. List of plant species sampled, guild, and disturbance class.

List of plant species sampled, guild, and disturbance class

Appendix H. Tables of results of the randomized complete block design ANCOVA for ground-cover species richness at the plot, sub-plot, and quadrat scale by year.

Tables of results of the randomized complete block design ANCOVA for ground-cover species richness at the plot, sub-plot, and quadrat scale by year

Appendix G. Figures showing ground-cover species richness at the plot, sub-plot, and quadrat scales for treatment and reference plots from 1994 to 2010.

Figures showing ground-cover species richness at the plot, sub-plot, and quadrat scales for treatment and reference plots from 1994 to 2010

Appendix N. Indicator species and change in frequency and abundance for reference conditions and treatment sites.

Indicator species and change in frequency and abundance for reference conditions and treatment sites

Appendix J. Results of the randomized complete block design ANCOVA for ground-cover average log abundance at the treatment scale by year.

Results of the randomized complete block design ANCOVA for ground-cover average log abundance at the treatment scale by year