Ecosystem Protection in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions Supported by Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data

Dear Colleagues,

The widespread existence of natural and anthropogenic dryland ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions is the key to mitigating desertification and desertification threats in this region and to addressing global climate change. The types of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas mainly include "grassland", "desert scrub", "desert oasis", "lake wetland", "mountain forest", etc. Human-led forestry ecological projects such as "Three-North Shelterbelt Forest (China)" and "ecological restoration and reconstruction of shrubling-grassland (Ethiopia)" are important factors to maintain the stable operation of these ecosystems.

For a long time, the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics, ecosystem function changes and spatial pattern optimization of these ecosystems have been the focus of research in the field. With the help of field investigation and remote sensing inversion, researchers have conducted observations and analyses at different scales to explore the characteristics and evolution trends of these ecosystems from micro to macro levels. Microscale studies generally focus on the internal structure and function of a single ecosystem or community, such as vegetation composition, soil characteristics and the changes in ecological functions caused by these characteristics, while macroscale studies pay more attention to the interactions between ecosystems and the overall pattern.

At present, the development of remote sensing science and technology provides a broader perspective for the study of ecosystem structure and function in arid areas. MODIS, Landsat, Sentinel, GF, Quick Bird and other satellite images as well as UAV data allow us to observe the structural characteristics and spatio-temporal evolution of these ecosystems from different scales, providing us with the possibility to analyze the impact of ecosystem structure on ecological function from different scales.

This special issue focuses on the multi-scale structure and ecological function changes of various ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas supported by multi-source remote sensing data. The main research fields include high-precision inversion and mapping of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas supported by multi-source remote sensing image data, and the multi-scale structure characteristics of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas and their interaction mechanisms with ecosystem functions. Evolution law and driving mechanism analysis of ecosystem structure and function based on long time series remote sensing data, application of machine learning, GEE and other remote sensing technologies in ecosystem research in arid and semi-arid areas.

Articles may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. High-precision remote sensing identification of multiple ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas based on machine learning and GEE;
2. Multi-scale high time resolution mapping of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas supported by multi-source remote sensing data;
3. Evolution of multi-scale structural features of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions based on long-term remote sensing data and their interaction mechanisms with ecosystem functions;
4. Remote sensing monitoring and multi-scale simulation of ecosystem carbon fixation and sand fixation in arid and semi-arid areas.
5. Structure and function analysis of farmland shelterbelts in arid and semi-arid areas based on multi-source and multi-scale remote sensing.
6. Monitoring, identification, prediction and early warning of wildfires in arid and semi-arid areas caused by heat wave intensification in the context of climate change.

Dr. Qiang Yu
Dr. Junran Li
Dr. Di Yang
Dr. Linyuan Li
Guest Editors

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• multi scale remote sensing data
• remote sensing technology
• arid and semi-arid regions
• climate change
• dryland ecosystems
• structure and function farmland protection forest