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Assessing Human Impacts on Australian Forests through Integration of Remote Sensing Data

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Patterns and Processes in Forest Landscapes

Abstract

Prior to and since European settlement, humans have impacted on the vegetation of Queensland, Australia, primarily by changing fire regimes and clearing forests for agriculture but also by introducing flora and fauna. Such changes have been mapped and monitored in the past through the use of airborne (e.g., aerial photography) and spaceborne optical (e.g., Landsat) remote sensing data. However, with the increased provision of data in different modes (radar, lidar) and at various spatial resolutions (<1–>250 m), opportunities for detecting, characterizing, mapping and monitoring such changes have been increased. In particular, the combination of radar and optical data has allowed better assessment of deforestation patterns (clear felling, stem injection), regeneration and woody thickening, tree death from climatic change, and biomass/biomass change. Such information also provides new insights into the associated changes in carbon dynamics and biodiversity. Using a series of case studies, these advances in technology and the benefits for Statewide and national mapping and monitoring of forest extent and condition are reviewed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DB, United Kingdom

    Richard Lucas

Authors
  1. Richard Lucas
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  2. Arnon Accad
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  3. Lucy Randall
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  4. Peter Bunting
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  5. John Armston
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Scienze delle Produzioni Vegetali, University of Bari, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari BA, Italy

    Raffaele Lafortezza  & Giovanni Sanesi  & 

  2. Dept. Earth, Ecological & Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43606-3390, USA

    Jiquan Chen

  3. USDA Forest Service Environmental Sciences Research, WFWAR - Stop Code 1113 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington DC, 20250-1113, USA

    Thomas R. Crow

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Lucas, R., Accad, A., Randall, L., Bunting, P., Armston, J. (2008). Assessing Human Impacts on Australian Forests through Integration of Remote Sensing Data. In: Lafortezza, R., Sanesi, G., Chen, J., Crow, T.R. (eds) Patterns and Processes in Forest Landscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8504-8_13

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