Satellite Remote Sensing for Conservation Action: Case Studies from Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Satellite remote sensing presents an amazing opportunity to inform biodiversity conservation by inexpensively gathering repeated monitoring information for vast areas of the Earth. However, these observations first need processing and interpretation if they are to inform conservation action. Through a series of case studies, this book presents detailed examples of the application of satellite remote sensing, covering both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, to conservation. The authors describe how collaboration between the remote sensing and conservation communities makes satellite data functional for operational conservation, and provide concrete examples of the lessons learned in addition to the scientific details. The editors, one at NASA and the other at a conservation NGO, have brought together leading researchers in conservation remote sensing to share their experiences from project development through to application, and emphasise the human side of these projects.

Allison K. Leidner is a conservation biologist and currently works at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, for the Earth Science Division. She leads activities within the Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Programs, which support the use of remote sensing for basic research and decision-support applications. She also coordinates a variety of climate assessment activities for NASA. Her former research program focused on the ecology and conservation of rare and endangered species. In 2014, she received a NASA Special Service Award for her efforts related to the development of the Third National Climate Assessment. She is contracted to NASA via ASRC Federal.

Graeme M. Buchanan is a Principal Conservation Scientist at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (the UK BirdLife Partner). He has a background in field ecology and ornithology and he has been using remote sensing data for a wide variety of purposes to inform conservation decision making and prioritisations in the UK and globally for around fifteen years. He is on the British Ornithologist's Union Council, and is an editor for the journals Bird Conservation International and Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.