Applications of Remote Sensing in Ecosystem Functioning and Biodiversity Monitoring

Dear Colleagues,

Remote sensing has emerged as a valuable tool for monitoring ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. The synergies between the increasingly available open access satellite images and cloud-based platforms for planetary-scale geospatial analysis offer an unprecedented opportunity to incorporate ecosystem processes and disturbances that have been so far largely neglected in ecological modeling and monitoring. Remote sensing enables the quantification and monitoring of various ecosystem properties, attributes, and functions, including primary productivity, carbon dynamics, water availability, and nutrient cycling at various spatial and temporal scales. As technology advances and remote sensing data become increasingly accessible, the integration of remote sensing with other ecological disciplines will continue to advance our understanding of ecosystems and support effective conservation and management strategies.

This Special Issue is devoted to exploring ‘Applications of remote sensing in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity monitoring’. We extend an invitation to researchers to submit innovative, integrative, and cross-scale approaches that will enhance our ability to monitor biodiversity and ecosystems holistically and functionally across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. We enthusiastically welcome studies that integrate remote sensing products of surface energy balance and nutrient cycles with state-of-the-art techniques to assess and comprehend ecosystem functioning at various spatial and temporal scales.

In particular, we encourage submissions that utilize high-temporal-resolution data to map and monitor seasonal dynamics and interannual changes in diverse aspects of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity patterns. Such contributions may encompass mapping intra- and inter-annual land cover and vegetation dynamics, quantifying changes in carbon and nutrient cycling (e.g., primary productivity), and investigating various aspects of biodiversity such as phenological and seasonal dynamics, as well as abrupt shifts in habitat availability and population dynamics.

We highly encourage contributions that address the integration of different remote sensing sensors and data with other valuable sources, such as ground-based observations, citizen science data, or genetic and molecular data. The fusion of multiple data streams enables researchers to augment the monitoring capacity of ecosystem functioning and biodiversity across different spatiotemporal scales, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of ecological processes.

Dr. Adrián Regos
Dr. Lluís Pesquer Mayos
Dr. João Gonçalves
Dr. João P. Honrado
Dr. Salvador Arenas-Castro
Prof. Dr. Domingo Alcaraz-Segura
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• primary productivity
• surface energy balance
• water and nutrient cycle
• seasonal dynamics and abrupt changes
• intra- and interannual changes in species distributions
• ecosystem functional characterization at different spatial scales