Remote Sensing: Making Connections

Woody TurnerEarth Science Division

NASA Headquarters

April 22, 2015

Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Team Meeting Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, College Park, MD

NASA Earth Science MissionsCurrent & PlannedPlus Earth Ventures

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3("Robert MacArthur" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_MacArthur.jpg#/media/File:Robert_MacArthur.jpg)

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Drivers Are Increasing

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Advice from Nature

Aichi Answers for 2020

• Target 5By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

• Target 11By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into wider landscapes and seascapes.

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Managing in Time as well as Space

Wilson’s Answer:

Give Nature

Half

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(from Tony Hiss, Smithsonian Sept. 2014)

Connectivity Is Key

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Nature Climate Change article by Jantz, Goetz and SERVIR AST PI Nadine Laporte reveals that focusing on biological corridors through REDD+ activities could both maintain tropical landscapes and benefit biodiversity, even in the face of increased land use and climate change.

Used high-res vegetation carbon stock data derived from MODIS and GLAS datasets to map corridors traversing areas of highest biomass between tropical protected areas.

Results:• Many corridors have carbon densities

equal to or above that of protected areas they connect.

• As pathways for movement of mammalian populations to alternate habitat, corridors also mitigate the effects of land use and climate change on biodiversity.

These results can inform REDD+ planning in developing countries and help integrate climate mitigation and biodiversity goals.

Corridors are shown in white, protected areas in semi-transparent grey, and biomass as a gradient from low density in red to high density in green.

Observe Like We Already Have a Box• Understanding biodiversity change in the face of global

anthropogenic drivers and conserving it for the future both require the use of a growing array of remote sensing technologies.

• It’s time to build integrated systems to observe biodiversity at large scales for understanding and conservation.

• Ecological connectivity is key to assembling large regions for nature and allowing corridors for movement of organisms responding to a changing environment.

• So, what would integrated global-to-local (i.e., top down and bottom up) biodiversity observation and monitoring networks supporting large connected landscapes and seascapes look like?

• Let’s discuss tomorrow. 12

Thank You