India Biodiversity Portal: An integrated, interactive and participatory biodiversity informatics platform

International audienceThis paper describes a growing biodiversity platform, launched in 2008, which organizes knowledge on the biodiversity of India. The main objective and originality of the India Biodiversity Portal (IBP) is to aggregate curated biodiversity data of different kinds (e.g. distribution maps, temporal distribution or life history) in an integrated platform where amateurs and experts can easily interact.Since its launch, the platform has seen an exceptional increase in both user activity and biodiversity data. Currently the portal has descriptions of over 20,400 species, and has aggregated approximately 1,280,000 observations covering more than 30,000 species, which already constitutes a unique source of information for scientists and stakeholders in conservation. Over 8500 users have registered on the portal. The amount of data generated and to be generated in the next few years by this portal will certainly help the effective implementation of biodiversity conservation and management in one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world

Monitoring mangrove forests after aquaculture abandonment using time series of very high spatial resolution satellite images: A case study from the Perancak estuary, Bali, Indonesia

Revegetation of abandoned aquaculture regions should be a priority for any integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). This paper examines the potential of a matchless time series of 20 very high spatial resolution (VHSR) optical satellite images acquired for mapping trends in the evolution of mangrove forests from 2001 to 2015 in an estuary fragmented into aquaculture ponds. Evolution of mangrove extent was quantified through robust multitemporal analysis based on supervised image classification. Results indicated that mangroves are expanding inside and outside ponds and over pond dykes. However, the yearly expansion rate of vegetation cover greatly varied between replanted ponds. Ground truthing showed that only Rhizophora species had been planted, whereas natural mangroves consist of Avicennia and Sonneratia species. In addition, the dense Rhizophora plantations present very low regeneration capabilities compared with natural mangroves. Time series of VHSR images provide comprehensive and intuitive level of information for the support of ICZM

Multiscale analysis of land use and land cover changes in Sri Lanka by remote sensing: the impacts of post-war infrastructure development in the last 20 Years (2002-2022)

International audienceOn a worldwide scale, land use and land cover changes (LULCC) is a major driver of global change and biodiversity erosion. This study aims to monitor at the scale of Sri Lanka, LULCC and vegetation dynamics, to identify the main changes and their drivers. It places emphasis on multiscale geospatial monitoring with satellite data but also mobilises the interdisciplinary knowledge of a research programme. First, national scale data allows the identification of major changes with the MODIS NDVI dataset using Mann-Kendall tests and time profile analysis. A second local scale was mobilised with a systematic diachronic visual interpretation of high-resolution images on Google Earth. The third step, a macro-regional scale focus on the South and East coasts, used LANDSAT imagery (Stacked K-means) verified by field studies (botanical and vegetation analysis, and interviews). About 92.5% of the island of Sri Lanka is stable or presents no significant trends in the vegetation cover. 5% show a significant positive (greening) trend between 2000 and 2020 around the Puttalam lagoon, west of the Samanalawewa Reservoir, in the Udawalawe National Park, east and north of Ella, and the Nuwaragala Forest Reserve. Only about 2.5% (165,000 ha) of the Island shows a negative significant trend mainly in the periphery of Colombo and Trincomalee. The first driver is a set of national planning decisions in terms of infrastructure development (including urban growth, housing programmes and agricultural fields, and the management of protected areas). The second driver comes under rural dynamics with increasing tree density in rural landscapes over the Uva Province. Infrastructure development initiated by the state, creates both underlying conditions for other activities and negative impacts on coastal ecosystems, such as degradation of wetlands (including protected areas)