INVESTIGADORES
PIÑEIRO Gervasio
artículos
Título:
The Ecosystem Functioning Dimension in Conservation: insights from remote sensing
Autor/es:
CABELLO, JAVIER; FERNANDEZ, NESTOR; ALCARAZ-SEGURA, DOMINGO; OYONARTE, CECILIO.; PIÑEIRO, GERVASIO; ALTESOR, ALICE.; DELIBES, MIGUEL; PARUELO, JOSÉ M.
Revista:
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2012 p. 1 - 2
ISSN:
0960-3115
Resumen:
An important goal of Conservation Biology is the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Incorporating quantitative measurements of ecosystem functions into conservation practices is important since it provides not only proxies for biodiversity patterns, but also new tools and criteria for management. In the satellite era, the translation of spectral information into ecosystem functional variables expands and complements the more traditional use of satellite imagery in conservation biology. Remote sensing scientists have generated accurate techniques to quantify ecosystem processes of key importance for conservation planning such as primary production, carbon gains, surface temperature, albedo, evapotranspiration, or precipitation use efficiency, but these techniques are still unfamiliar for conservation biologists. In this article, we identify specific fields where a remotely-sensed characterization of ecosystem functioning may help conservation science and practice. Such fields include the management and monitoring of species and populations of conservation concern; the assessment of ecosystem representativeness and singularity; the use of protected areas as reference sites to assess global change effects, the implementation of monitoring and warning systems to guide adaptive management; the direct evaluation of supporting ecosystem services; and the planning and monitoring ecological restorations. The approaches presented here show feasible ways to incorporate the ecosystem functioning dimension into conservation through the use of satellite-derived information.