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Review paper: Application of remote sensing and GIS in ecology

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Application of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System in

Ecology: Review

By

Dessalegn Ejigu * (PhD)

Department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

* Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed. P.O.Box:1817; Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
E-mail: dessalegn_ejigu@yahoo.com; Mobile: +251918769703

Oct., 2016

0
 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... 1

SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 2

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 5

1.1. REMOTE SENSING ...................................................................................................... 6

1.1.1. Electromagnetic Energy and Remote Sensing ....................................... 6
1.1.2. Active and Passive Remote Sensing ...................................................... 8
1.1.3. Image Data Characterization .................................................................. 8
1.2. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) ............................................................ 10
1.3. REMOTE SENSING AND GIS AS TOOLS IN ECOLOGY ................................................ 11

2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF REMOTE SENSING AND GIS ......... 12

3. THE NEED FOR REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN ECOLOGY................ 17

4. APPLICATION OF REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN NATURE

CONSERVATION ............................................................................................... 19

4. 1. REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT ................................... 23

4. 2. REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY ANALYSIS........................... 26
4. 3. REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN HABITAT MANAGEMENT ........................................ 29
4. 4. REMOTE SENSING AND GIS IN HABITAT SUITABILITY ANALYSIS........................... 30
4. 4. 1. Habitat Suitability Index Model (HSI) ............................................... 34
4.4.2. Ecological Niche Model ....................................................................... 36

5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 40

1
Summary

Reliable information and sound assessment methods about the ecosystem in general

enable for identification of indicator species in order to predict changes occurring in the

ecosystem. Information about a given ecosystem might be collected both by ground-

based and remote sensing methods. Ground-based methods of data acquisition include

field observations and gathering in-situ data, while data collection using remote sensing

is based on the use of image data acquired by sensors of different types.

Remote sensing technology is used to collect data on inaccessible or dangerous sites,

which are not easily accessible using ground methods. This is because remote sensing

enables to collect data about the area at a distance without direct contact with the object

under investigation. Information is acquired by measuring the interaction of

electromagnetic radiation with the earth’s surface and data are stored as images, and

interpretation is possible using GIS software.

Electromagnetic energy, which propagates through space in the form of waves, is

characterized by having both electrical and magnetic fields. Remote sensing operates in

several regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and the UV portion of the spectrum has

the shortest wavelengths, while the thermal and microwave regions are the longer

wavelengths that are of practical use by remote sensing. Each band of the spectrum

provides specific information about the earth’s features. For instance, thermal infrared

gives information about surface temperature and microwaves can provide information

2
on surface roughness. The visible region of solar radiation is associated with different

colours of which blue, green and red spectra are known as the primary colours of the

visible spectrum.

Even though, majority of the innovation and advancement in this field have taken place

only in the recent past, observations of the earth from a distance has been done since

long. The most significant beginning in satellite-based remote sensing was made in

1972, when the first civilian remote sensing satellite Landsat-1 was launched by NASA,

which paved the way for modern remote sensing application in a variety of disciplines.

At present, there is a need for advanced technologies in different areas such as

ecosystem management, inventories and assessment of biodiversity, environmental

monitoring and species-habitat suitability analysis. These technologies should be based

on physical parameters of the ecosystem and socio-economic situations of the

community. Therefore, remote sensing is used to evaluate the health of the ecosystem in

general by monitoring the dynamics of the earth’s surface. Normalized Difference

Vegetative Index (NDVI) value is calculated as a ratio between measured reflectivity in

the red and near infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and used to quantify

the vegetation cover of the earth. Red and near infrared bands of the spectrum are

chosen as they are most affected by the absorption of chlorophyll and by the surface of

green vegetation.

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NDVI values range from ‘-1.0 to 1.0’; and increased positive NDVI values indicate

increased amounts of green vegetation, while values near zero and decreasing negative

values indicate non-vegetation features. Remote sensing and GIS have also been used in

landscape ecology to observe and analysis the structure and function of different

landscapes. Moreover, the application of remote sensing and GIS in species habitat

suitability analysis is critically important. Hence, using remote sensing and GIS

technologies, it is possible to develop different types of models for conservation of

wildlife in particular and natural resources with its sustainable development in general.

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1. Introduction

The absence of reliable information and sound assessment methods in ecological studies

can have the most profound consequences for conservation of biodiversity and for the

identification of indicator species that can predict changes in a given ecosystem (Salem,

2003). Data for these purposes could be acquired using both ground based and remote

sensing methods. Ground based methods of data acquisition include field observations,

collection of in-situ data and measurements and land surveying activities, whereas

remote sensing methods are based on the use of image data acquired by sensors of

different types such as aerial camera, scanner or radar (Janssen, 2001).

The satellite remote sensing is a timely technological development in view of serious

pressures on our natural habitat (Roy and Ravan, 1994). It is used to interpret the images

or numerical values obtained from a distance in order to acquire meaningful information

of particular features on earth (Janssen and Bakker, 2001; Mertes, 2002). For the last

couple of decades, the application of remote sensing is not only revolutionized the way

data have been collected but also significantly improved the quality and accessibility of

important spatial information for conservation and management of natural resources

(Bedru, 2006). The parallel advance in the reliability of GIS has permitted the

interpretation of large quantity of data generated through remote sensing to address

different environmental problems (Menon and Bawa, 1997; Bedru, 2006).

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1.1. Remote Sensing

Remote sensing is the art and science of acquiring information about some property of

an object, area or phenomena which is not in physical contact with the objects or area

under investigation (Janssen, 2001; Mironga, 2004; Bedru, 2006). The instruments used

for this purpose may employ any of a variety of physical energy distributions. Sonars,

for example, work on the principle of acoustic wave distribution, optical instruments

such as the photographic camera and multi-spectral scanner use electromagnetic energy

distribution. By doing so, the interactions of electromagnetic radiation with the earth’s

surface measured by air-borne or space-borne sensors are used to collect data of interest

in a given area and search data at fixed intervals to reveal the changes in the land-

use/land-cover patterns (Mironga, 2004).

Measurements and analyses, which are performed on remotely collected data, are

usually stored as image data in the form of aerial photographs or satellite images that

can be integrated and analyzed using GIS to represent the real world features. Even

though, remote sensing data can be processed and interpreted without other information,

the best result could be obtained by linking measurements of remote sensing to ground

or surface measurements and observations (Janssen, 2001).

1.1.1. Electromagnetic Energy and Remote Sensing

Remote sensing relies on the measurement of electromagnetic energy reflected or

emitted by the earth’s surface (Janssen, 2001; Woldai, 2001). Electromagnetic energy,

6
which propagates through space in the form of waves, is characterized by electrical and

magnetic fields that are perpendicular to each other (Woldai, 2001).

All matters with a certain temperature radiate electromagnetic waves of various

wavelengths. The total range of wavelengths is commonly referred to as the

electromagnetic spectrum, which extends from gamma rays to radiowaves. Remote

sensing operates in several regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The ultraviolet

portion of the spectrum has the shortest wavelengths, while thermal and microwave

regions are longer wavelengths that the remote sensing is practically operating. When

electromagnetic radiation falls upon a surface, some of the energy is absorbed, some is

transmitted through the surface and the rest is reflected. Surfaces of the earth also

naturally emit radiation mostly in the form of heat (infrared radiation) and the reflected

and emitted radiations are recorded on photographic film or a digital sensor (Mironga,

2004)

Thermal infrared of the electromagnetic radiation gives information about surface

temperature that can be related to various features of the earth such as the mineral

composition of rocks or the conditions of vegetation cover. Microwaves can provide

information on surface roughness and the properties of the earth’s surface such as water

contents. The visible region of the spectrum, which is commonly known as light is the

only portion of the spectrum that is associated with the concept of colours. Blue, green

and red spectra are known as primary colours of the visible spectrum (Woldai, 2001).

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1.1.2. Active and Passive Remote Sensing

Remote sensing uses devices known as sensors that can measure and record the

electromagnetic energy. Active sensors such as radar and laser have their own source of

energy and can emit a controlled beam of energy to the surface and can measure the

amount of reflected energy. These sensors are used to measure the time delay between

emission and return and can determine the location, height, speed and direction of an

object under investigation. As active sensors can emit their own controlled signals, they

can be operated both day and night, regardless of the energy available from external

sources. Passive sensors, on the contrary, can only work using the natural sources of

energy. As a result, most passive sensors use the sun as a source of energy and can only

work during day time. However, passive sensors that measure the longer wavelengths

related to the earth’s temperature do not depend on the external source of illumination

and can be operated at any time (Woldai, 2001).

1.1.3. Image Data Characterization

Remote sensor data are more than a picture, and they are measurements of emitted or

reflected electromagnetic energy. Image data are stored in a regular grid format with

rows and columns in which a single picture element represents a ‘pixel’. As the intensity

and wavelengths of reflected and emitted electromagnetic radiation are a function of a

particular surface on the earth, each surface is characterized by its own ‘spectral

signature’ that can be mapped using remote sensing (Janssen and Bakker, 2001;

Mironga , 2004; Jensen, 2005).

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Information from remote sensing images can be interpreted by visual image

interpretation and by the ability of individual to relate colours and patterns to the real

world features. The image is then to be visualized on a screen or in hard copy and is

used to interpret the colours and patterns on the picture. In digital image classification,

the operator instructs the computer to perform the interpretation (Janssen and Bakker,

2001).

Limitations of Remote Sensing

Despite its invaluable applications in different areas of interest, the use of remote

sensing technology in monitoring and managing habitats and ecosystems is likely to face

some practical drawbacks. These include practical limitations, which are usually

inherent in the technology itself such as the limited ability of light to penetrate through

water and atmosphere. The second limitation of remote sensing is the difficulties in

assessing suitability in certain sensors. For example, remote sensing tends to provide

geomorphological rather than ecological information on reef structures. This is because

of the limited spectral and spatial resolution of the sensors caused by the presence of

various external barriers like turbidity and water depth. Besides, a more pronounced

limitation of remote sensing is the problem of cloud cover that significantly reduces the

number of suitable images to be available at all seasons (Mironga, 2004).

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1.2. Geographic Information System (GIS)

GIS is computerized software that stores, retrieves, manipulates, analyzes and displays

geographically referenced data sets, which can be used for different applications (Roy,

1993; Roy and Ravan, 1994; DeBy, 2001; Salem, 2003; Larson et al., 2004, Mironga,

2004). It can manage two basic types of data known as geospatial data that define the

location of a feature or object on the ground and attribute data that describe the

characteristics of these features (Larson et al., 2004). In implementing georeferenced

data using GIS, three important stages are involved. These are data preparation and

entry, analysis and presentation (Roy and Ravan, 1994; DeBy, 2001). GIS could be able

to present information in a language that is accurate and comprehensive to all users

(Mironga, 2004).

GIS data are represented and stored in the form of vector or raster. In a vector data

structure, geospatial data are represented as points, lines or polygons. For examples, fire

rings or campsites would be stored as points, trails or streams as lines and forests or

recreation opportunity classes as polygons. In contrast, a raster data structure represents

geospatial data in a regular grid of cells and the attribute applies to the entire cell. Raster

data provide continuous coverage of an area. For example, Digital Elevation Model

showing slope, aspect and elevation in a grid for an area is a raster data structure.

Attribute data can be handled in rational data base software comprised of records and

fields. GIS, therefore, can offer the unique ability to link such spatial and attribute data

and tries to manipulate and analyze relationships among them (Larson et al., 2004).
10
GIS can manage different data types occupying the same geographic space. Its power

lies in its ability to analyze relationships between features and their associated data. This

analytical ability results in the generation of new information as patterns and spatial

relationships are revealed (Milla et al., 2005). It is a useful tool in analyzing resource

selection of wildlife species and in predicting and mapping their habitat suitability. It

also allows different scholars to utilize novel sources of land cover and other habitat

data like remote imagery from aerial photographs, satellite sensors and GIS databases of

elevation, surface water, climate data and land types. Consequently, advances in

understanding of wildlife habitat are developed with the development of GIS

technologies (Larson et al., 2003).

1.3. Remote Sensing and GIS as Tools in Ecology

Over the last few decades, remote sensing technology has been used increasingly by the

scientific community to describe and monitor a variety of systems both on local and

global scales. This technology has evolved from pure visual imagery (aerial

photographs) to multi-spectral imagery (thematic mapper). The advantage of remote

sensing is its ability to capture and record land details instantaneously. Its spatial

resolution and aerial coverage provide an over view of the land surface, and data derived

from remotely sensed images could be stored and analyzed using GIS software

(Mironga, 2004).

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GIS is a widely used tool to digitize remotely sensed or cartographic data complemented

with various ground truth data, which are geocoded using a global positioning system

(GPS). GPS is a satellite and ground based radio navigation system that enables the user

to determine accurate locations on the surface of the earth. Hence, remote sensing and

GPS have given rise to the advent of more precise and geographically referenced data

for improved assessment and analysis (Milla et al., 2005; Codjoe, 2007).

GIS can be used to analyze the spatial characteristics of the data over various digital

layers. If sequential data are available, quantification of spatial changes becomes

possible through overlay analysis. GIS is an expanding information technology for

creating databases with spatial information, which can be applied to both human

settlements such as demographic databases and to the natural environment such as

distribution of populations and environmental factors to use in decision making for

sustainable management of nature and natural resources (Dahdouh-Guebas, 2002).

2. Historical Development of Remote Sensing and GIS

Beyond the primitive methods of remote sensing, earliest people used various

techniques in order to detect objects or areas of concern at a distance. In the absence of

reliable weapons, for example, one of the defensive and protective strategies of them

from aggressive animals were detecting danger from a distance and preparing for a

quick escape. Otherwise, they stand on a high cliff or tree to view the landscape in the

12
area and inspect the areas around by direct observation. This indicates that some form of

remote sensing is as old as human history itself (Bedru, 2006).

Before the launch of satellites, scientific remote sensing activities were mainly focused

on the use of aerial photography. The modern usage of digital satellite technology has

stimulated to collect a lot of air-borne and space-borne information uniformly in time

and space, over large areas of the earth (Mironga, 2004). Even though, the majority of

the innovation and development in this area of science has taken place in the past thirty

years, observations of the earth from air-borne platforms is more than a century old

practice. The first earth observation using a balloon in the 1860s is regarded as an

important benchmark in the history of remote sensing (Lillesand et al., 2004 as cited in

Bedru, 2006). Since then, platforms have evolved to space stations, sensors have

evolved from cameras to sophisticated scanning devices and the user- base has grown to

all disciplines.

The most significant beginning in satellite-based remote sensing was made in 1972, with

the launch of the first civilian remote sensing satellite, Landsat-1 by NASA (Roy and

Ravan, 1994; Cohen and Goward, 2004; Bedru, 2006) that paved the way for the

modern remote sensing applications in many fields. Data collected by Landsat-1

provided new hope especially to developing countries to monitor and manage their

natural resources. As a result, an improved understanding of forest, crop, soil, urban

growth, land degradation, and many other features and processes could easily be

13
identified. The increasing availability of powerful computers and advances in GIS have

also allowed many sectors to explore the remotely sensed products and identify various

problems like disaster early warning systems, health care, deforestation, land

management, coastal ecology, research in biodiversity and in monitoring the effect of

green house as well as in a wide variety of other fields.

As reviewed by Melesse et al. (2007), there are eight distinct eras of remote sensing;

some running parallel in time periods, but are distinctly unique in terms of technology,

concept of utilization of data, applications and data characteristics. These eras are:

1. Airborne remote sensing era: This era evolved during the First and the Second

World War during which remote sensing was mainly used for the purposes of surveying,

reconnaissance, mapping and military surveillance.

2. Rudimentary space-borne satellite remote sensing era: It began with the launch of

‘test of concept’ rudimentary satellites such as Sputnik 1 from Russia and Explorer 1 by

the US at the end of 1950s. This was soon followed by the first meteorological satellite

called Television and Infrared Observational Satellite-1 (TIROS-1) by the US.

3. Spy satellite remote sensing era: During the peak of the cold war, spy satellites such

as Corona were widely used. Its purpose was to collect data almost exclusively for

military services. The data were not digital, but were produced as hard copies.

4. The Meteorological satellite sensor remote sensing era: At this time, the early

meteorological satellite sensors consisted of geo-synchronous Geostationary Operational

Environmental Satellite (GOES) and polar orbiting National Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Administration (NOAA) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)

were emerged. This was an era when data were developed in digital format and were

analyzed using exclusive computer software. This was also an era when global coverage

and environmental applications became realistic and practical.

5. Landsat era: The Landsat era begins with the launch of Landsat-1 (then called Earth

Resources Technology Satellite) in 1972 carrying multi-spectral scanner (MSS) sensor.

This was followed by other path-finding Landsat satellite 2 and Landsat 3 which carried

MSS, and Landsat 4 and Landsat 5, which carried Sensors 2007, 7 3211 Thematic

Mapper (TM). The Landsat 7 carries Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) sensor.

Unfortunately, the Landsat, 6 failed during the launch. The Landsat-8 carrying

Operational Land Imager (OLI) is planned for launch in 2011. The Landsat era also has

equally good sun-synchronous Land satellites such as Systeme Pour l' Observation de Ia

Terre (SPOT) of France and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) of India.

These satellites have high resolution (2.5 - 80m) and have global coverage potential. At

this resolution, only Landsat is currently gathering data with pole to pole global

coverage. This is, by far, the most significant era that kick-started truly wide

environmental application of remote sensing data both locally and globally (Janssen,

2001).

6. Earth Observing System (EOS) era: This era began with the launch of Terra

satellite in 1999 and has brought in the global coverage, frequent repeat coverage, and

high level of processing, easy and mostly free access to data. The Terra/Aqua-satellites

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carrying sensors such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS)

and Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) have daily revisited. The

active space-borne remote sensing sensors using radar technology include European

Radar Satellite (ERS), Japanese Earth Resources Satellite (JERS), Radarsat and

Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS). The Shuttle Radar Technology Mission

(SRTM) was used to gather data for digital elevation.

7. New Millennium era: This era refers to highly advanced ‘test-of concept’ satellites

sent into orbit around the same time as EOS era, but the concepts and ideas are quite

different. These are basically satellites and sensors for the next generation. These

include Earth Observing-1 carrying the first space borne hyper spectral data. The idea of

Advanced Land Imager (ALI) is used as a cheaper; technologically better replacement

for Landsat and it is also very attractive.

8. Private industry era: This has begun at the end of the last millennium and beginning

of this millennium and consists of a number of innovations including:

i. Collection of data with very high resolution (<10 meter). This is exemplified by

IKONOS and Quick bird satellites.

ii. A revolutionary means of data collection. This is represented by Rapid eye satellite

constellation of 5 satellites, having almost daily coverage of any spot on earth at 6.5

meter resolution in 5 spectral bands including a red-edge band.

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iii. The introduction of micro-satellites, some under disaster monitoring constellation

(DMC), which are designed and launched by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. for

Turkey, Nigeria, China, US and UK.

iv. The innovation by Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) in making rapid data

access of very high resolution image for any part of the world through streaming

technology that makes it easily accessible to even non-specialists.

3. The Need for Remote Sensing and GIS in Ecology

In the recent past, acquiring the necessary data to generate information about the

dynamic ecosystem had been time consuming and expensive. Consequently, our

knowledge of internationally important ecosystems, especially those which are found in

the developing countries have been inadequate. However, with the invention of satellite

remote sensing techniques, these areas are getting international attention with detailed

studies towards monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem conservation (Bedru, 2006).

There is a need for speedy and advanced technologies for ecosystem management,

inventories and assessment of biodiversity, environmental monitoring and species

habitat suitability analysis. These technologies should be based on physical parameters

of the ecosystem and socio-economic situations. Habitat mapping provides knowledge

about quality and quantity of vegetation cover, the physical set up and anthropological

interactions. Technological development in the area of remote sensing and GIS holds the

promise to collect and integrate different levels of information (Roy and Ravan, 1994).

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Remote sensing data provide information with respect to extent and location of available

lands and its spatial distribution for implementation of various problems. In the modern

time, links between remote sensing and ecology have been significantly increased

because of advances in imaging spectroscopy (Roy, 1993; Schaepman, 2005).

From the geographical perspectives, GIS is associated with a powerful reference base or

geographic locations including maps of natural vegetation, soil, topography, hydrology,

bird migration and distribution of other fauna. Locating various features associated with

their attributes could allow diverse data to be combined, compared and analyzed in a

single data-base to produce new relationships between environmental features and the

different biota. GIS, therefore, is an effective and powerful means of tool to

communicate a large variety of information within the shortest possible time scale

(Salem, 2003).

Orbital platforms collect and transmit data from different parts of the electromagnetic

spectrum, which in combination with larger scale aerial or ground-based sensing and

analysis, provides researchers with enough information to monitor natural trends of

various types of long and short term environmental phenomena such as El Nino and

other environmental events. Consequently, information in different sectors like

agriculture, health, disaster early warning and a wide variety of other fields have quickly

adapted the opportunity that remote sensing and GIS have brought about. There has

been a rapid increase in the use of remotely sensed information for land management,

18
aquatic ecology, biodiversity assessment, wildlife ecology as well as monitoring the

effects of greenhouse gases and other environmental issues (Bedru, 2006).

Information as the status and distribution of species are essential for wildlife research

and conservation activities. Remote sensing and GIS are increasingly applied in

monitoring wildlife habitats. In order to detect potential habitats for species such as the

hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadras) in Eritrea, for example, information about the

distribution of the main habitat factors such as, water supply, food sources, steep cliffs

and altitude of the area were digitized from topographic maps and remote data. It is

proved that sites with a combination of these factors are considered to be potential

habitat for the species concerned (Zinner and Torker, 1996). Therefore, remote sensing

and GIS are widely used to locate potential habitats, digitize the information and then

mapping the suitable habitats.

4. Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Nature Conservation

Remote sensing data are being used to manage various types of natural resources, and

monitoring the dynamics of land-use/land-cover, which is a basic pre-requisite for

planning and implementing various developmental activities (Murthy, et al., 2003).

Vegetation analysis of a given area using remote sensing depends on the interactions of

the plant with incoming solar radiation. For any surface that light strikes, there are three

forms of interaction. These are absorption, transmission and reflection. The proportions

of each of these interactions depend on the wavelength of the light and the material and

19
condition of the feature. The spectral properties of vegetation in different parts of the

spectrum can, therefore, be interpreted to reveal information about the health and status

of forests and other types of earth features (Milla et al., 2005).

Plants can be distinguished from other terrestrial surfaces by their specific absorption

and reflection patterns. Specifically, plants absorb red and blue wavelengths of light and

reflect green and infrared wavelengths. This absorption characteristic is dependent upon

the physiological status of the plant and may be considered as a measure of greenness.

Other land based surface features exhibit different light absorption and reflection

patterns and can therefore be easily distinguished from vegetative land-cover.

Vegetation index is used to quantify the vegetation cover on the surface of the earth.

Regardless of the different types of vegetation indices, the Normalized Difference

Vegetative Index (NDVI) is the most widely used in studying the health of the

ecosystem in general. NDVI is a ratio index that exploits the high reflectance of plant

biomass in the near infrared (NIR) region compared to the fairly low reflectance in the

red (R) region of the electromagnetic spectrum (Herkt, 2007). It is an indicator of the

greenness of vegetation canopies by which vegetation characteristics can be detected

from other land surface features (Leyequien et al., 2007). Its ratio represents the

fractional difference due to the absorption of red light by chlorophyll from the total of

near infrared and red light being reflected from the surface of vegetative structures. Red

and near infrared bands are selected because they are the most affected regions of the

20
spectrum. This is because chlorophyll causes considerable absorption in the red light

portion of the spectrum, while the spongy mesophyll of the leaf creates considerable

reflection in the near infrared region.

The NDVI transformation is, therefore, computed as the ratio of the measured intensities

in the red and near infrared spectral bands by:

NDVI = (NIR - R) /(NIR + R)

Where, NIR (near infrared) and R (red) are spectra of solar radiation with wavelengths

of 0.76 μm to 0.90μm, and 0.63 μm to 0.69μm, respectively. The resulting index is

sensitive to the presence of vegetation and used to quantify the vegetation cover on the

surface of the earth. It can also be used to address issues of vegetation type, amount,

condition and enables to measure and monitor plant growth and biomass production.

As indicated from NDVI analysis, vigorously growing healthy vegetation has low red

light reflectance and high near infrared reflectance and hence with high NDVI values.

As a result, the output values can be calculated for each pixel in the range of ‘–1.0 to

1.0’. Increased positive NDVI values indicate increasing amount of green vegetation,

while values near zero and decreasing negative values indicate non-vegetated features

such as barren surfaces, water, snow or clouds (Fig. 1). Consequently, NDVI can be

used as an indication for the amount of energy being absorbed by the vegetation, of

which a fraction will drive plant canopy transpiration and can be used to examine the

dynamics of the growing season or monitor various environmental phenomena such as

21
drought. Therefore, the applications of remote sensing and GIS technologies in nature

conservation might encompass from simple applications such as determining the

location of sampling sites, plotting maps or examining the distribution of soil types in

relation to yields and productivity to the more complex applications that might include

vegetation classification for predicting crop yield or environmental impacts, modeling of

surface water drainage patterns or animal migration patterns (Milla et al., 2005).

Figure1. Land-cover mapping showing the Missouri River basin, central USA.
(Source: Melese et al., 2007).

22
4. 1. Remote Sensing and GIS in Biodiversity Assessment

Biodiversity is the variety and variability of living organisms considered at all levels of

organization, from genetic level to species level, and from lower taxonomic levels to

higher taxonomic levels, including the variety of habitats and ecosystems as well as the

processes occurring within (Murthy, et al., 2003). The best approach in preserving

biodiversity prior to damages caused by anthropogenic activity is avoiding species loss

(Martinez-Meyer et al., 2006). Information needed for biodiversity monitoring is varied

greatly. It should also be geographically based and used to predict where new

populations of endangered species are present (Salem, 2003). Data for monitoring

biodiversity might be available in the form of text documents, tabular data-bases, spatial

data-bases (locations), image files or satellite images and should include topographic,

environmental, species, administrative, socio-economic and other themes. All such data

should be integrated and analyzed by GIS for assessment and monitoring purposes in

order to provide information about the current environmental conditions. Such

information is used as a guideline for ecosystem management decisions (Salem, 2003;

Larson et al., 2004). Indigenous knowledge of the local people about a particular species

of interest should also be considered in order to increase the level of awareness of

biodiversity conservation in the area (Salem, 2003; Doswald et al., 2007).

Inventory of biodiversity is a pre-requisite for conservation and sustainable utilization of

resources to take immediate and appropriate actions. It can also be used to identify

organisms, which can be used as bioindicators of ecosystem health. GIS, therefore, plays
23
an important role for conservation and monitoring of biodiversity. Biological and

conservation data-bases such as species occurrences, sites and managed areas possess

different logical entities that have a geographical property or spatial characteristics. This

information can be mapped and incorporated geographically in order to decide

conservation priorities for a particular species that might be critically in danger of

extinction (Manel, et al., 2001; Salem, 2003).

To understand how environmental factors determine the diversity of amphibians and

reptiles, for example, a data base about their distribution should be recorded at different

scales and information related to the habitat requirements of the species like vegetation,

soil characteristics, drainage, water bodies, altitude, slope, exposure, temperature,

rainfall and radiation can be integrated using GIS. This proved the usefulness and

effectiveness of remote sensing and GIS technologies in the area of biodiversity

conservation (Toxopeus et al., 2008). The world’s biological diversity has co-evolved

with human culture. However, people have eliminated, competing or threatening species

by killing them in large numbers and drastically altering their habitats.

Environmental data may be used in assessing the relative biodiversity of the area, not

because of interest in environmental variation by itself, but because the habitat or

ecosystem variation would indicate species diversity. Mapping the distribution of

vegetation is very important in order to assess the distribution of species which are

directly linked with specific vegetation communities and habitats. Thus, knowledge of

24
the pattern of distribution of vegetation is basic to understand the choice of an individual

species and to understand the habitat suitability for the species concerned. Hence, the

role of multi-sensor satellite data in understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of

vegetation type and distribution as a precursor for biodiversity assessment is very crucial

(Debinski et al., 1999; Murthy et al., 2003).

Scientifically based sound environmental management requires frequent and spatially

detailed assessments of population dynamics of species and their distribution. Tradition

methods of collection of such information may be expensive and there are disputes when

such observations are not supported by scientific evidences (Palma et al., 1999). To

overcome such problems, measuring the distribution and status of biodiversity at a

distance using air-borne or satellite sensors is an ideal way to gather these crucial data.

There are two general approaches to the remote sensing of biodiversity assessment. One

is the direct remote sensing of individual organisms, species assemblages or ecological

communities from air-borne or satellite sensors. These days, new space-borne systems

with very high spatial resolutions are used for such purpose (Turner et al., 2003). Direct

remote sensing of certain large organisms and many communities is possible with

unclassified satellite imagery. Likewise, new hyper-spectral sensors slice the

electromagnetic spectrum into many more discrete spectral bands, enabling the detection

of spectral signatures that are characteristic of certain species or communities. The

second approach is the indirect remote sensing of biodiversity using environmental

25
parameters as proxies. For example, many species are restricted to discrete habitats such

as woodland, grassland or sea-grass beds that can be clearly identified at a distance. By

combining information about the known habitat requirements of species with maps of

land-cover derived from satellite imagery, precise estimates of potential species ranges

and patterns of species richness are possible (Turner et al., 2003; Bedru, 2006).

4. 2. Remote Sensing and GIS in Landscape Ecology Analysis

Landscape is a mosaic of interacting ecosystems that can be observed from different

perspectives. Landscape ecology, as its name implies is the study of landscapes

specifically; the composition, structure and function of landscapes. Landscape can be

explained at any given scale containing an interesting pattern that affects and is being

affected by an ecological process of interest. Landscape ecology involves the study of

the landscape patterns, the interactions among the elements of these patterns, and how

patterns and interactions change over time. In addition, landscape ecology involves the

application of principles in the formulation and solving of real problems (Turner, 1989;

Vogiatzakis et al., 2004; Zielinski et al., 2006).

Remote sensing and GIS methods have been used in the analysis of landscape ecology

to observe and analyze the structure of different landscapes. Based on geological data,

the landscape will be divided into different physiographic units and the resulting units

are subdivided by soil type and by cultural patterns to derive the building blocks of the

system known as the landscape description units (LDUs). These LDUs can subsequently

26
be merged into landscape types with similar physical and cultural attributes using

multivariate analysis (Vogiatzakis et al., 2004).

In this context, the distribution and abundance of wolf (Canis lupus) in Poland indicate

that there is a positive relationship between forest cover and the number of wolves

present in the area (Jedzejewski et al., 2004). The result describes that wolves are absent

in fragmented forests. The numbers of domestic animals killed by wolves are higher in

areas with lower forest cover. It was also revealed that the number of villages and wolf

records in a plot were negatively correlated indicating that forest cover and density of

human settlement were negatively correlated in all the landscapes. Recent developments

in GIS technology focus in modeling analysis to predict the distribution of wildlife

species under the present and changed environmental conditions. Hence, it is possible to

understand the interactions of species with their habitats and other aspects of ecological

parameter within the landscapes (Salem, 2003).

Landscape ecology has numerous applications such as to analyze information on the

total area, patchiness and connectivity of ecosystems and habitats. The representations

of such factors in the protected area network are important for biodiversity conservation.

Besides, the spatial data integrated with socio-economic information have the potential

to reveal the complex role of social and economic factors in maintaining and managing

ecosystem (Menon and Bawa, 1997). The relationship between remote sensing and

landscape ecology is significant as it is a strong spatial component within the area of

27
landscape ecology. The use of remote sensing to analyze a given landscape, therefore,

provides a rich range of data relevant in management and conservation activities

(Groom, et al., 2006).

To measure habitats of species efficiently at new scales and to relate animal occurrences

to large scale patterns, a new set of habitat metrics is generated in order to understand

the relationship between patches, edges and corridors (Stauffer, 2002). Hence,

landscapes are spatially heterogeneous geographic areas characterized by diverse

interacting patches or ecosystems, ranging from relatively natural terrestrial and aquatic

systems to human dominated environments. Increased availability of remotely sensed

data and GIS has brought landscape scale concepts to life in a multitude of thematic

maps (Hess, 1994).

Habitat suitability matrices model evaluates the relationship between landscape

characteristics and the habitat preference or use by a wildlife species in a categorical

manner. It is important to quantify the spatial pattern in order to test the relationship of

landscape pattern to human and ecological processes. Metrics that capture aspects of

land pattern, for example, are needed to correlate landscape spatial pattern with

environmental processes such as water quality, avian population dynamics, mammalian

movement or nutrient flow (Griffith, 2002).

28
4. 3. Remote Sensing and GIS in Habitat Management

Aerial photographs of suitable specifications in the visible and near infrared bands

provide excellent information for wildlife habitat management. However, unlike satellite

remote sensing, aerial photographs cannot provide data at regular intervals and it is not

used for frequent monitoring of a given habitat (Roy and Ravan, 1994). Essential

parameters for habitat management such as vegetation cover, physical set-up and land-

use can be studied using aerospace remote sensing. Satellite remote sensing has a great

role to play in habitat management and hence in biodiversity conservation. Humans

often modify the ecosystem and can have a dramatic impact on resident flora and fauna

and subsequently affect the ecosystem health (Chow et al., 2005). The quality of a given

habitat is generally reflected in the status of vegetation cover, which is governed by

complex phenomenon of the physical environment. Therefore, to evaluate a given

habitat, understanding of vegetation has been given prime importance (Roy and Ravan,

1994; Murthy, et al., 2003; Milla et al., 2005).

To understand the effects of global climate change and land-use changes on terrestrial

ecosystem structure and function, regional and global investigations on plant growth and

carbon cycling processes should be practiced. For a spatial scaling of such plot-level

understanding, remote sensing via satellite is used to measure land-use/vegetation-type

distribution and temporal changes in ecosystem structures. A new interdisciplinary

approach known as ‘Satellite Ecology’ aims to link ecology, remote sensing and

micrometeorology in order to facilitate the study of ecosystem function at the plot,

29
landscape and regional scale, is currently being developed (Muraoka and Koizumi,

2009).

GIS also offers a new way of thinking about and improving wilderness management

that offers much promise. However, it also poses substantial problems and limitations.

Wilderness management decisions and actions are based ideally on an intimate

knowledge of the natural landscape. In reality, most wildernesses have insufficient

information about current resource conditions, uses, threats and the interrelationships

among various ecological factors. In addition, the large area and general inaccessibility

of wilderness contributes to the perception that collecting new information would be too

costly and time consuming. Hence, remote sensing and GIS technologies can overcome

these problems (Landres et al., 2001). Given the extent of current threats facing tropical

waters, such as pollution, land-use changes in the areas surrounding them and the

disappearance of wetlands, remote sensing and GIS are essential tools for assessing and

monitoring the impacts as well as for displaying information essential for management

(Mironga, 2004).

4. 4. Remote Sensing and GIS in Habitat Suitability Analysis

To evaluate the habitat suitability of wildlife, ground methods using various indices are

being used, since long. Habitat suitability of a species accounts for both number of

species and number of individuals of each species present in a particular habitat.

Nevertheless, species suitability analysis using ground methods are known with obvious

limitations. This is due to the fact that the whole area of wildlife habitat could not be
30
traversed in one instance. The information collected by this method might not also be

accurate and adequate as compared to data collected using remote sensing coupled with

ground checking. As a result, the information acquired from remote sensing data when

supported by field evidences of the presence of animal and biotic disturbances have been

used for wildlife habitat suitability analysis (Roy, 1993; Roy and Ravan, 1994).

A common approach for the application of remote sensing in habitat suitability studies is

preparing land-cover/land-use maps using satellite data and evaluating the known

habitat preference and conditions of species based on actual field observation. Data

should include food and shelter, water and terrains of the area. The qualitative ratings in

each information layers can be modeled to develop habitat suitability maps.

Consequently, the physical habitat characteristics and the specific habitat needs of the

species in question have to be related (Roy and Ravan, 1994; Gibson et al., 2004; Bedru,

2006). A simple habitat suitability model that requires little data input and conveys an

understanding of the ecosystem can be used for decision making than a more accurate

but data demanding and complex model. Nevertheless, the more detailed a model, the

better it will mimic the ecosystem (Jorgensen et al., 1998; Buk, 2004).

Modeling species distribution is an important aspect of conservation ecology. It is

known that expert knowledge coupled especially with knowledge from indigenous

people can be used to create a good habitat suitability model (Doswald et al., 2007).

Knowledge about the internal structure of the extent of occurrence (EO) of a species in

31
its ecosystem is almost always unknown, even for well known flagship species. As a

result, there is a need to develop a model to infer the area of occupancy (AO) within the

EO of a species in a given habitat to develop effective management and conservation

strategies (Boitani et al., 2008; Lurz et al., 2008). For example, studying the habitat

suitability model for African mammals across the African continent demonstrates that

the AO of each species is obtained by merging the information on the ecological needs

of the species and the values of ecological variables over the region identified as EO

(Boitani et al., 2008). Modeling in natural resource management context has focused on

habitat based methods and harvest dynamics. It is achieved by simplifying the

complexity of the ecosystem without losing the most important of the system dynamics.

Data from satellite imagery are incorporated to develop predictive models of patch

occupancy, habitat use and suitability (Buk, 2004; Lurz, et al., 2008).

Since some parameters which are important to ecological carrying capacity such as

disease, competition, predation or fire are difficult to measure, model or predict, this

type of model cannot represent as a model of ecological carrying capacity.

Consequently, a habitat suitability model is developed primarily based on the

distribution of animals compared to the availability of habitat parameters (Buk, 2004).

In order to develop predictive models of species habitat-relationships using remotely

sensed data and GIS methods, the species must be either common enough or habitat

specific (Debinski et al., 1999). Estimating the habitat suitability model for an animal

32
that is not entirely dependent on a specific type of habitat could be a difficult process.

The gray wolf is a very adaptable mammal and does not always follow the rules and

thresholds set forth in research findings (Belongie, 2008). However, the model (Fig. 2)

shows that when all environmental factors that determine the availability of the species

are considered together, the overall model can be used as a good indicator of suitable

habitat and corresponds with the real world populations. The environmental factors that

determine the gray wolf habitat suitability include population density, road density, land

use/land cover and prey density. Habitat suitability model for tiger in Achankmar

Wildlife Sanctuary, India, which are developed by considering various environmental

factors including the distribution of prey species indicates that such a model can predict

the suitable habits and used as an important input and baseline information for

population modeling and natural resource management in the sanctuary (Singh et al.,

2008).

33
Figure 2: Habitat suitability analysis for gray wolf in the upper western Peninsula
Michigan. (Source: Belongie, 2008)

4. 4. 1. Habitat Suitability Index Model (HSI)

Habitat for species could be characterized using an approach known as habitat suitability

index (HSI), which maps the suitability of lands for habitat and environmental values

(Blaser et al., 2004). HSI model is constructed by combining the different variables into

simple equations that will put into a GIS format to construct predictive maps. Data about

species in constructing this model might be compiled from a variety of sources including

expert opinion, life history strategies, published literature and existing habitat suitability

models. The application of HSI models is a highly influential tool used by natural

resource managers and decision makers to manage wildlife resources and to develop

spatially explicit wildlife habitat maps (Lauver et al., 2002).

34
Using GIS for HSI type habitat evaluations has several advantages over traditional HSI

modeling. It is easier and faster to apply GIS based habitat models to large geographic

areas because time and labour intensive collection of field data is not necessary to be

implemented. The full use of GIS in habitat modelling, however, requires the revision of

existing HSI models or the development of new ones. Most existing HSI models are

based on relatively small scale habitat variables measured by experts in the field, while

GIS based HSI models have the capability to more readily focus on larger scale habitat

variables that can be quantified without going to a field. New landscape variables like

patch size and edge density may be incorporated into the HSI model, and habitat

suitability may be analyzed at multiple spatial scales (Larson et al., 2003). It has been

applied successfully to assess population distributions by identifying the most important

species and it requires much less sampling effort than the original models (Wakeley,

1988; Lurz, et al., 2008).

HSI used to predict where potential habitat is located for each individual species

modeled, and then combine the individual ratings into an overall rating. The overall

rating is to be used to prioritize potential habitat areas known as ‘hotspots’ for more than

one species within the given areas of interest (Downey et al., 2004). HSI is developed

based on functional relationships between wildlife and habitat variables. Values of

habitat variables are related to habitat quality on a suitability index (SI) scale from ‘0’

(not habitat) to ‘1’ (habitat of maximum suitability). Wildlife habitat relationships may

35
be supported by empirical data, expert opinion, or both (Allen, 1982; Larson et al.,

2003). Mathematical and logical relationships used to calculate HSI scores varied

depending upon the number and types of SI variables included in the model. Both

arithmetic and geometric means are used to combine variables representing life

requisites, or tangible resources. However, a geometric means i.e. [x 1 x x2 x … x xn] 1/n

is preferable when habitat quality becomes zero, if the value of any single SI variable is

zero. This indicates that habitat characteristics are all necessary and therefore not

substitutable. Occasionally, life requisites for a species cannot be expected to occur in a

single site or raster cell (map pixel). For example, cover and winter food requisites for a

given bird species are satisfied by young and mature forest, respectively. In such cases,

the HSI score in a cell is represented predominantly one life requisite rather than both

because it is used as a maximum function to choose between the contrasting life

requisite variables (Larson et al., 2003).

4.4.2. Ecological Niche Model

Ecological niche modeling generates a map of the expected distribution of a species

using information on the environmental conditions where it is known to occur. Niche

modeling requires two kinds of data: georeferenced localities and GIS-based maps of the

environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation that are likely to influence

the suitability of the environment for the species. A niche model for a given species can

show that climatically suitable areas occur beyond its known range limits. This pattern is

called over-prediction. If over prediction occurs in areas that are geographically adjacent
36
to the known range, one interpretation is that the range limits are not actually set by

climatic factors. Instead, they might be set by biotic interactions like competitors or by

non-climatic factors, such as lack of time for dispersal into climatically suitable areas, or

the presences of barriers as rivers and other water bodies for terrestrial organisms. By

contrast, if the niche model of a species over-predicts into geographically isolated

patches of nearby habitat, this pattern suggests that its range might be more extensive

than is presently known, or even that closely related, undescribed species might exist in

those patches (Kozak et al., 2008).

The distribution range of a salamander (Plethodon jordani), which is endemic in the

Great Smoky Mountains of eastern North America is limited in its distribution by a

combination of climatic and biotic factors. The niche model for this species identifies

climatically suitable locations extend beyond its actual geographic distribution (Fig. 3).

Climatically inhospitable lowland areas apparently prevent the dispersal of P. jordani to

suitable patches of montane habitat to the southwest (A, B), southeast (C) and northeast

(D) of its range. By contrast, the niche model suggests that this species should be able to

disperse to climatically suitable regions (E) that border its southeastern range limit,

given the climatic similarity to regions where this species occurs. Unfortunately, these

sites are occupied by the closely related species (P. metcalfi), suggesting the possibility

that ecological interactions with this species, rather than climate, set the southeastern

range limit of P. jordani (Kozak et al., 2008). This indicates that a species is not

37
expected to be randomly distributed in relation to all habitat variables, but is expected to

occur within a smaller range of values of each of the habitat variables (Williams, 2003).

Figure 3: Ecological niche modeling predicting distribution of a salamander (Plethodon

jordani). (Source: Kozak et al., 2008)

38
Acknowledgements

I owe my great thanks to my Advisor Prof. Afework Bekele for his genuine advice and

continuous follow up to complete every activity within the allotted time. I would like to

acknowledge Prof. M. Balakrishinan for his expertise comments and suggestions given

during the preparation of this paper as a PhD seminar. The comments and suggestions

are highly constructive and his dedication in providing feedback on time is appreciated.

39
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