Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate the ability of hyperspectral data to discriminate plant dominant species. Most of them have employed the use of empirically based techniques, which are site specific, requires some initial training based on characteristics of known leaf and/or canopy spectra and therefore may not be extendable to operational use or adapted to changing or unknown l...

Models estimating surface energy fluxes over partial canopy cover with thermal remote sensing must account for significant differences between the radiometric temperatures and turbulent exchange rates associated with the soil and canopy components of the thermal pixel scene. Recent progress in separating soil and canopy temperatures from dual angle composite radiometric temperature measurements...

Habitat heterogeneity has long been recognized as a fundamental variable indicative of species diversity, in terms of both richness and abundance. Satellite remote sensing data sets can be useful for quantifying habitat heterogeneity across a range of spatial scales. Past remote sensing analyses of species diversity have largely been limited to correlative studies based on the use of vegetation...

The consequences of disturbance are known to be non-linear functions of disturbance intensity. In this study, we investigate the effects of a range of disturbance intensities by experimentally manipulating the cover of Fucus gardneri, a dominant intertidal alga. The effects of disturbance on subsequent Fucus recovery were similar for canopy reductions of 0–80%. However, complete removal of all ...

The potential of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for land-cover mapping applications has since long time been recognized. The main advantage of the SAR is its all-weather mapping capability, which secures the mapping independent of cloud cover that may prevent acquisition by optical and infrared sensors. Furthermore, the backscattering of the radar waves is sensitive to the dielectric properties...

This study investigated the effects of human trampling on cover, diversity and species richness in an alpine heath ecosystem in northern Sweden. We tested the hypothesis that proximity to trails decreases plant cover, diversity and species richness of the canopy and the understory. We found a significant decrease in plant cover with proximity to the trail for the understory, but not for the can...