Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists , livre ebook

Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists
Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists
Using Open Source Software
Edited by Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner and Stefan Dech
DATA IN THE WILD
Pelagic Publishing | www.pelagicpublishing.com
Published by Pelagic Publishing www.pelagicpublishing.com PO Box 725, Exeter EX1 9QU, UK
Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists: Using Open Source Software
ISBN 978-1-78427-022-3 (Pbk)
ISBN 978-1-78427-023-0 (Hbk)
ISBN 978-1-78427-024-7 (ePub)
ISBN 978-1-78427-025-4 (Mobi)
ISBN 978-1-78427-028-5 (PDF)
Copyright © 2016 Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner and Stefan Dech
This book should be cited as Wegmann, M., Leutner, B. and Dech, S. (2016) Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists: Using Open Source Software . Exeter: Pelagic Publishing, UK.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the publisher. While every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Pelagic Publishing, its agents and distributors will be held liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: Forest cover change in the West Coast Region of South Island, New Zealand (M. Wegmann, www.earth-observation.org ).
Contents
List of Contributors
Foreword – Woody Turner
Preface – Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner and Stefan Dech
List of Acronyms
Introduction
Nathalie Pettorelli
1 Spatial Data and Software
Benjamin Leutner, Ned Horning, Duccio Rocchini and Martin Wegmann
2 Introduction to Remote Sensing and GIS
Martin Wegmann and Benjamin Leutner
3 Where to Obtain Spatial Data?
Martin Wegmann and Benjamin Leutner
4 Spatial Data Analysis for Ecologists: First Steps
Benjamin Leutner, Martin Wegmann, Mirjana Bevanda and Ned Horning
5 Pre-Processing Remote Sensing Data
Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
6 Field Data for Remote Sensing Data Analysis
Christian Wohlfart, Mirjana Bevanda, Ned Horning, Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
7 From Spectral to Ecological Information
Duccio Rocchini, Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
8 Land Cover or Image Classification Approaches
Ned Horning, Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
9 Land Cover Change or Change Detection
Ned Horning, Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
10 Continuous Land Cover Information
Ned Horning, Benjamin Leutner, Mirjana Bevanda and Martin Wegmann
11 Time Series Analysis
Jan Verbesselt, Fabian Loew, Christian Wohlfart and Martin Wegmann
12 Spatial Land Cover Pattern Analysis
Duccio Rocchini, Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner and Mirjana Bevanda
13 Modelling Species Distributions
Björn Reineking, Benjamin Leutner and Martin Wegmann
14 Introduction to the added value of Animal Movement Analysis and Remote Sensing
Mirjana Bevanda, Kamran Safi, Martin Wegmann and Benjamin Leutner
Outlook and Acknowledgements
Index
Contributors
MIRJANA BEVANDA
Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology – Ecological Field Station, Institute of Biology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
STEFAN DECH
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Earth Observation Center (EOC), German Remote Sensing Data Center, Director DFD, Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234 Weßling; Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Oswald-Külpe Weg 86, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
NED HORNING
American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Director of Applied Biodiversity Informatics, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
BENJAMIN LEUTNER
Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Oswald-Külpe Weg 86, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
FABIAN LÖW
Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Oswald-Külpe Weg 86, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
NATHALIE PETTORELLI
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom
BJÖRN REINKENING
Irstea, UR EMGR, 2 rue de la Papeterie-BP 76, F-38402 St-Martin-d’Hères, France; Univ. Grenoble Alpes, F-38402 Grenoble, France; Biogeographical Modelling, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
DUCCIO ROCCHINI
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Research and Innovation Centre, Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, 38010 S. Michele all’Adige, TN, Italy
KAMRAN SAFI
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
JAN VERBESSELT
Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
MARTIN WEGMANN
Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Oswald-Külpe Weg 86, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
CHRISTIAN WOHLFART
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Earth Observation Center (EOC), German Remote Sensing Data Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234 Weßling, Germany
Foreword
The past decade has witnessed an impressive rise in the use of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies for the ecological sciences. These technologies are fast becoming part of the standard toolkit for ecologists, especially those working at larger spatial scales or seeking to understand the wider context of their activities. From its advent in the 1960s, satellite remote sensing has primarily existed within the purview of geographers and climatologists seeking global to regional understanding of large-scale Earth system phenomena. However, new sensors, with data products at higher spatial, spectral, temporal, and radiometric resolutions, now generate large volumes of information useful to those working at finer-grained plot and landscape scales, while still offering coverage at global extent. Combine these developments with enhanced GIS and other computational capabilities enabling the integration of geospatial imagery of different types from multiple platforms and we find ourselves facing a knowledge revolution in all disciplines having a significant spatial component—ecology perhaps foremost among them.
Nevertheless, ecologists still face a daunting challenge. How can they become proficient in using these new tools and take part in the ongoing geospatial revolution? With this book, Wegmann, Leutner, and Dech rise to the challenge. In these pages, they cleverly couple an exploration of satellite remote sensing with step-by-step immersion in the open source GIS and statistical analysis tools that allow one to make sense of the remote sensing products. In my experience, this book is unique in walking the ecological reader through the actual steps necessary to create their own remotely sensed products. It is more than an introduction to the principles of remote sensing and GIS. It is guide to get the reader going, and using remote sensing and GIS to create focused products. The text also helpfully points to selected websites, articles, and books for deeper informational dives and recommends ways to connect with the geospatial community.
I applaud the authors for advancing all ecological disciplines with this text. Through this guidebook, they open the doors to the geospatial revolution that is taking our science and its applications to new heights.
Woody Turner
Program Scientist for Biological Diversity and Program Manager for Ecological Forecasting, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters
Preface
Martin Wegmann, Benjamin Leutner and Stefan Dech
Dear Reader,
The aim of this book is to make remote sensing data and tools more accessible to ecologists. It provides a starting point for applying remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) in ecology using open source software (OSS), hence this book is not aimed at remote sensing specialists unless they are interested in learning how to apply OSS in remote sensing. We cannot cover the full range of GIS and remote sensing methods within this book, but will rather focus on ecologically relevant examples instead.
There are several books around that provide a more in-depth introduction to the theory, methods and history of remote sensing in ecology and conservation, such as:
• Horning, N., Robinson, J. A., Sterling, E. J., Turner, W. and Spector, S. (2010) Remote Sensing for Ecology and Conservation: A Handbook of Techniques . Oxford, OUP.
• Pettorelli, N. (2013) The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index . Oxford, OUP.
• Skidmore, A. and Prins, H. (2002) Environmental Modelling with GIS and Remote Sensing . London, Taylor Francis.
We can also recommend more general remote sensing books:
• Campbell, J. B. and Wynne, R. H. (2011) Introduction to Remote Sensing . New York, Guilford Publications.
• Jensen, J. R. (2015) Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective . Glenview, IL, Pearson Education Inc.
• Lillesand, T., Kiefer, R. W. and Chipman, J. (2015) Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation . Hoboken, NJ, Wiley.
This book does not intend to compete with these books. We want to provide practical guidance by offering hands-on examples of ecological remote sensing approaches and OSS solutions.
Our target user community is situated between beginner and advanced user. We expect some prior knowledge about spatial data, remote sensing and the software used. We will guide you through the whole process from acquiring and pre-processing data, statistical analysis and modelling up to interpreting the results. By the end, we hope that you will have learned what remote sensing and GIS, as