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Application of Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis for Environmental Management in the Global South

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing and Geo-Spatial Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 2617

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Enviornment, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Interests: GIS; remote sensing; hydrology; climatology; physical geography; environmental management

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Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Enviornment, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Interests: applied hydrology; drought; flood risk; environmental management

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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Interests: GIS; remote sensing; hydrological modelling; data science

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Guest Editor
Remote Sensing Laboratory, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
Interests: microwave active and passive; optical/IR; hydrology; soil moisture; sensitivity and uncertainty analysis; artificial intelligence; geospatial technology; classification methods; simulation and modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Co-Guest Editor
School of Architecture and Enviornment, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Interests: GIS; remote sensing; environmental management; spatial modelling; spatial analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the absence of established in-situ monitoring networks, remote sensing has become an important tool for environmental managers in the Global South to monitor and model changes in the environment across a broad range of sectors, such as water and natural resource management, hazard and disaster management and conservation. In these contexts, remote sensing technologies and data can help with the detection, monitoring and forecasting of environmental changes to inform decision-making and sustainable environmental management.

This Special Issue aims to report on the applications of remote sensing and spatial analysis for environmental management in the Global South. We welcome empirical research articles and review papers which explore how remote sensing data can help monitor and model environmental change across a broad range of scales, from national/regional investigations utilizing low-medium resolution satellite data to local-scale and high-resolution analyses. We welcome manuscripts exploring all aspects of applied spatial analysis and environmental remote sensing in the Global South, particularly the ones which explicitly discuss how remote sensing can be used for environmental management.

  • Applications of environmental remote sensing and spatial analysis in the Global South;
  • How remote sensing and spatial analysis can support environmental management;
  • Evaluating environmental change over time;
  • Evaluating the impact of environmental management initiatives and projects;
  • Monitoring changes in natural resource availability (including water resources, forest resources, agricultural resources, geological resources, etc.);
  • How remote sensing can support environmental hazard and disaster monitoring, modelling, and management;
  • Comparison of remote sensing data sources and methodologies for environmental management;
  • New remote sensing data and methodologies for monitoring the environment.

Dr. Harry West
Prof. Dr. Nevil Quinn
Prof. Dr. Celso Augusto Guimarães Santos
Dr. Shaeden Gokool
Dr. Prashant Srivastava
Michael Horswell
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.

Keywords

  • Global South
  • natural resources management
  • environmental management
  • conservation
  • hazards and disasters
  • applied remote sensing
  • spatial analysis
  • sustainable development
  • environmental change
  • geospatial modelling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 6249 KiB  
Article
Carbon and Energy Balance in a Primary Amazonian Forest and Its Relationship with Remote Sensing Estimates
by Mailson P. Alves, Rommel B. C. da Silva, Cláudio M. Santos e Silva, Bergson G. Bezerra, Keila Rêgo Mendes, Larice A. Marinho, Melahel L. Barbosa, Hildo Giuseppe Garcia Caldas Nunes, José Guilherme Martins Dos Santos, Theomar Trindade de Araújo Tiburtino Neves, Raoni A. Santana, Lucas Vaz Peres, Alex Santos da Silva, Petia Oliveira, Victor Hugo Pereira Moutinho, Wilderclay B. Machado, Iolanda M. S. Reis, Marcos Cesar da Rocha Seruffo, Avner Brasileiro dos Santos Gaspar, Waldeir Pereira and Gabriel Brito-Costaadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(19), 3606; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16193606 - 27 Sep 2024
Viewed by 972
Abstract
With few measurement sites and a great need to validate satellite data to characterize the exchange of energy and carbon fluxes in tropical forest areas, quantified by the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and associated with phenological measurements, there is an increasing need for [...] Read more.
With few measurement sites and a great need to validate satellite data to characterize the exchange of energy and carbon fluxes in tropical forest areas, quantified by the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and associated with phenological measurements, there is an increasing need for studies aimed at characterizing the Amazonian environment in its biosphere–atmosphere interaction, considering the accelerated deforestation in recent years. Using data from a flux measurement tower in the Caxiuanã-PA forest (2005–2008), climatic data, CO2 exchange estimated by eddy covariance, as well as Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) data and satellite vegetation indices (from MODIS), this work aimed to describe the site’s energy, climatic and carbon cycle flux patterns, correlating its gross primary productivity with satellite vegetation indices. The results found were: (1) marked seasonality of climatic variables and energy flows, with evapotranspiration and air temperature on the site following the annual march of solar radiation and precipitation; (2) energy fluxes in phase and dependent on available energy; (3) the site as a carbon sink (−569.7 ± 444.9 gC m−2 year−1), with intensity varying according to the site’s annual water availability; (4) low correlation between productivity data and vegetation indices, corroborating data in the literature on these variables in this type of ecosystem. The results show the importance of preserving this type of environment for the mitigation of global warming and the need to improve satellite estimates for this region. NDVI and EVI patterns follow radiative availability, as does LAI, but without direct capture related to GPP data, which correlates better with satellite data only in the months with the highest LAI. The results show the significant difference at a point measurement to a satellite interpolation, presenting how important preserving any type of environment is, even related to its size, for the global climate balance, and also the need to improve satellite estimates for smaller areas. Full article
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20 pages, 4165 KiB  
Article
Identifying Conservation Priority Areas of Hydrological Ecosystem Service Using Hot and Cold Spot Analysis at Watershed Scale
by Srishti Gwal, Dipaka Ranjan Sena, Prashant K. Srivastava and Sanjeev K. Srivastava
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(18), 3409; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16183409 - 13 Sep 2024
Viewed by 643
Abstract
Hydrological Ecosystem Services (HES) are crucial components of environmental sustainability and provide indispensable benefits. The present study identifies critical hot and cold spots areas of HES in the Aglar watershed of the Indian Himalayan Region using six HES descriptors, namely water yield (WYLD), [...] Read more.
Hydrological Ecosystem Services (HES) are crucial components of environmental sustainability and provide indispensable benefits. The present study identifies critical hot and cold spots areas of HES in the Aglar watershed of the Indian Himalayan Region using six HES descriptors, namely water yield (WYLD), crop yield factor (CYF), sediment yield (SYLD), base flow (LATQ), surface runoff (SURFQ), and total water retention (TWR). The analysis was conducted using weightage-based approaches under two methods: (1) evaluating six HES descriptors individually and (2) grouping them into broad ecosystem service categories. Furthermore, the study assessed pixel-level uncertainties that arose because of the distinctive methods used in the identification of hot and cold spots. The associated synergies and trade-offs among HES descriptors were examined too. From method 1, 0.26% area of the watershed was classified as cold spots and 3.18% as hot spots, whereas method 2 classified 2.42% area as cold spots and 2.36% as hot spots. Pixel-level uncertainties showed that 0.57 km2 and 6.86 km2 of the watershed were consistently under cold and hot spots, respectively, using method 1, whereas method 2 identified 2.30 km2 and 6.97 km2 as cold spots and hot spots, respectively. The spatial analysis of hot spots showed consistent patterns in certain parts of the watershed, primarily in the south to southwest region, while cold spots were mainly found on the eastern side. Upon analyzing HES descriptors within broad ecosystem service categories, hot spots were mainly in the southern part, and cold spots were scattered throughout the watershed, especially in agricultural and scrubland areas. The significant synergistic relation between LATQ and WYLD, and sediment retention and WYLD and trade-offs between SURFQ and HES descriptors like WYLD, LATQ, sediment retention, and TWR was attributed to varying factors such as land use and topography impacting the water balance components in the watershed. The findings underscore the critical need for targeted conservation efforts to maintain the ecologically sensitive regions at watershed scale. Full article
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