TY - JOUR
T1 - Geospatial tools address emerging issues in spatial ecology
T2 - a review and commentary on the special issue
AU - Skidmore, Andrew K.
AU - Franklin, Janet
AU - Dawson, Terry P.
AU - Pilesjö, Petter
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Spatial ecology focuses on the role of space and time in ecological processes and events from a local to a global scale and is particularly relevant in developing environmental policy and (mandated) monitoring goals. In other words, spatial ecology is where geography and ecology intersect, and high-quality geospatial data and analysis tools are required to address emerging issues in spatial ecology. In this commentary and review for the International Journal of GIS Special Issue on Spatial Ecology, we highlight selected current research priorities in spatial ecology and describe geospatial data and methods for addressing these tasks. Geoinformation research themes are identified in population ecology, community and landscape ecology, and ecosystem ecology, and these themes are further linked to the assessment of ecosystem services. Methods in spatial ecology benefit from explicit consideration of spatial autocorrelation, and applications discussed in this review include species distribution modeling, remote sensing of community and ecosystem properties, and models of climate change. The linkages of the Special Issue papers to these emerging issues are described.
AB - Spatial ecology focuses on the role of space and time in ecological processes and events from a local to a global scale and is particularly relevant in developing environmental policy and (mandated) monitoring goals. In other words, spatial ecology is where geography and ecology intersect, and high-quality geospatial data and analysis tools are required to address emerging issues in spatial ecology. In this commentary and review for the International Journal of GIS Special Issue on Spatial Ecology, we highlight selected current research priorities in spatial ecology and describe geospatial data and methods for addressing these tasks. Geoinformation research themes are identified in population ecology, community and landscape ecology, and ecosystem ecology, and these themes are further linked to the assessment of ecosystem services. Methods in spatial ecology benefit from explicit consideration of spatial autocorrelation, and applications discussed in this review include species distribution modeling, remote sensing of community and ecosystem properties, and models of climate change. The linkages of the Special Issue papers to these emerging issues are described.
KW - Spatial ecology
KW - GIS
KW - remote sensing
KW - environmental change
KW - temporal processes
KW - species distribution models
KW - biodiversity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79957627018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13658816.2011.554296
DO - 10.1080/13658816.2011.554296
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:79957627018
SN - 1365-8816
VL - 25
SP - 337
EP - 365
JO - International Journal of Geographical Information Science
JF - International Journal of Geographical Information Science
IS - 3
ER -