Application of Earth Observation for Monitoring Biodiversity

Dear Colleagues,

Global biodiversity is declining rapidly, threatening the natural functioning of Earth's ecosystems and the services they provide to society. There is now a general consensus (by, among others, the Convention of Biological Diversity) that to resolve this hazard in 2050, adequate monitoring needs to be performed to characterize the impacts/interactions of biodiversity on/with ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and community composition. This can then provide us with specific information to set up measures that protect and conserve these delicate ecosystems and allow for more inclusive and sustainable development of our natural resources. Remote sensing in this perspective is becoming a vital tool, as it provides reliable data and analytical techniques for monitoring biodiversity across large areas and over prolonged periods of time.

Remote sensing offers the tools for mapping and monitoring ecological traits and thereby enabling characterization of the underlying interactions with anthropogenic threats, environmental drivers, and other ecological processes. However, at present, actual applications of earth observation for monitoring impacts/interactions on/with biodiversity are sparse.

Therefore, this Special Issue on "Application of Earth Observation for Monitoring Biodiversity" calls for manuscripts that demonstrate successful applications of (satellite and airborne) remote sensing for biodiversity and ecological monitoring. We welcome i) papers describing what is required of earth observation for monitoring biodiversity, ii) recent methodological innovations to achieve these ecological requirements, and iii) success stories in applying earth observation techniques for monitoring biodiversity (impacts/interactions).

In particular, we invite studies that apply earth observation to understand:

• The state and change of biodiversity in terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems at different levels (genetic, functional, species, habitat, ecosystem, etc.) and across variable spatial scales (local, regional, and global)
• Ecosystem processes or stability by analyzing/modeling spatial and/or temporal ecological patterns to enable us to identify the risk of (among others) anthropogenic and natural threats
• Ecosystem functioning and thereby the services that ecosystems provide to humankind, such as carbon sequestration and water regulation.

We also encourage applications which

• show the potential and/or actual application of earth observation data originating from different platforms (including ground-based, airborne, and satellite) and sensors (active/ passive, optical, LiDAR, thermal, microwave, etc.)
• integrate different methodologies (such as analytical modeling, empirical relationships, machine learning regression, radiative transfer models) within prototype studies, operational frameworks, and cross-comparison exercises.

All types of original research (including review papers, proof-of-concept manuscripts, validation exercises, and application-oriented contributions) will be considered.

Dr. Joris Timmermans
Dr. Rosaleen March
Dr. Ranjani W. Kulawardhana
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.