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Progress in Physical Geography
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Development of a large area biodiversity monitoring system driven by remote sensing

Dennis C. Duro

Department of Forest Resource Management, 2424 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Nicholas C. Coops

Department of Forest Resource Management, 2424 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada, nicholas.coops{at}ubc.ca

Michael A. Wulder

Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Center), Natural Resources Canada, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, British Columbia, V8Z 1M5, Canada

Tian Han

Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Center), Natural Resources Canada, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, British Columbia, V8Z 1M5, Canada

Biodiversity is a multifaceted concept that often eludes simple operational definitions. As a result, a variety of definitions have been proposed each with varying levels of complexity and scope. While different definitions of biodiversity exist, the basic unit of measurement for the vast majority of studies is conducted at the species level. Traditional approaches to measuring species richness provide useful, yet spatially constrained information. Remote sensing offers the opportunity for large area characterizations of biodiversity in a systematic, repeatable, and spatially exhaustive manner. Based on this review we examine the potential for a national biodiversity monitoring system for Canada driven by remote sensing, a country approaching 1 billion ha in area, with the aim of producing recommendations that are transferable for regional or continental applications. A combination of direct and indirect approaches is proposed, with four selected key indicators of diversity that can be derived from Earth observation data: productivity, disturbance, topography, and land cover. Monitoring these indicators through time at an ecosystem level has the potential to provide a national early warning system, indicating where areas of potential biodiversity change may be occurring. We believe the large area biodiversity monitoring system as outlined would provide an initial stratification of key areas where regional and local scale analysis can be focused, while also providing context-specific information for species collection data.

Key Words: biodiversity • Canada • disturbance • Dynamic Habitat Index • land cover • Landsat • large area • MODIS • productivity • satellite • SRTM • topography.

Progress in Physical Geography, Vol. 31, No. 3, 235-260 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0309133307079054
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This article has been cited by other articles:


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 Progress in Physical GeographyHome page
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