Advances in Remote Sensing Techniques for Exploring Forest Wildlife Habitats and Biodiversity Conservation
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Remote Sensing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 88
Special Issue Editors
Interests: remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies in forest fire management, mapping and detection of changes in use/land cover and monitoring of natural ecosystems following a fire
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: GIS; forestry; forest ecology; cartography; forest species; remote sensing; peri-urban forest; landscape ecology; forest fires; OBIA; cellular automata; spatial modeling; urban ecology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The conservation of forest wildlife habitats and biodiversity is fundamental to maintaining ecological integrity and ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources. Forest ecosystems, however, face unprecedented threats from deforestation, climate change, and habitat fragmentation. These challenges underscore the urgency of developing more effective, data-driven conservation strategies. To achieve this, it is imperative to deepen our understanding of wildlife distribution, behavior, and ecosystem health through innovative approaches that integrate remote sensing technologies and advanced ecological modeling.
Recent breakthroughs in remote sensing—enabled by high-resolution satellite imagery, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other geospatial tools—have revolutionized our capacity to monitor vast and remote forest landscapes. These technologies enable precise mapping, real-time habitat monitoring, and the tracking of ecosystem changes at unprecedented scales. The combination of remote sensing and advanced ecological modeling techniques, including species distribution models (SDMs) and habitat suitability models (HSMs), provides a macro-level understanding of complex ecological dynamics and supports conservation initiatives.
This Special Issue aims to explore the coupling of remote sensing and ecological modeling, with particular relevance to studying the sustainable management and restoration of wildlife habitats in forests. Given the growing need for innovative solutions to biodiversity loss, we seek contributions that explore how these technologies can be leveraged to not only monitor and restore forest ecosystems but also enhance our capacity to implement adaptive management strategies in response to climate and human-driven pressures. Key topics of interest include:
- Remote Sensing for Habitat Monitoring:
- Use of satellite imagery and UAVs to map forest habitats, track wildlife movements, and assess habitat fragmentation.
- Ecological Modeling for Restoration:
- Application of species distribution models (SDMs) and habitat suitability models (HSMs) to guide silvicultural practices and restoration efforts.
- Ground-Truthing and Model Validation:
- Integrating field data with remote sensing to validate models and enhance accuracy in distribution and habitat predictions.
- Human Impacts and Adaptive Management:
- Using remote sensing to assess deforestation and land-use change, informing adaptive management and restoration strategies.
Dr. Thomas Katagis
Dr. Nikolaos Oikonomakis
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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.
Keywords
- forest wildlife habitats
- biodiversity conservation
- remote sensing
- ecological modeling
- habitat suitability
- sustainable forest management
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