525
As GEO BON has demonstrated, a global biodiversity monitoring system must
be a coordinated effort among many international and national organizations and
user communities and be built upon the vast amount of existing knowledge and data
that has already been acquired. Taking full advantage of RS data and several advancing technologies will provide new insights into the status and trends in biodiversity,
ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services and support operational monitoring at
new scales. This will vastly enhance the understanding of our biological systems,
how they are changing, and how society should respond.
Acknowledgments Many of the ideas presented in this Epilogue reflect discussions within the
workshop on “Unlocking a New Era in Biodiversity Science” at the Keck Institute for Space
Studies. Participants, in addition to the chapter authors, included Laura Bertola, Elizabeth Blood,
Ana Carnaval, Patrick Comer, David Coomes, Néstor Fernández, Christian Frankenberg, Robert
Guralnick, Walter Jetz, Troy Magney, José Eduardo Meireles, Charles Miller, Enrique Montes,
Frank Muller-Karger, Helene Muller-Landau, Ruth Oliver, Monica Papeş, Ryan Pavlick, Naiara
Pinto, David Schimel, Anna Schweiger, Gary Spiers, Derek Tesser, David Thompson, Woody
Turner, and Maria Tzortziou. The research described herein was in part carried out at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA; government
sponsorship acknowledged.
References
Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F, Dickson NM, Eckley N, Guston DH, Jäger J, Mitchell RB (2003)
Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proc Natl Acad Sci 100:8086
Jetz W, Cavender-Bares J, Pavlik R, Schimel D, Davis FW, Asner GP, Guralnick R, Kattge J,
Latimer AM, Moorcroft P, Schaepman ME, Schildhauer MP, Schneider FD, Schrodt F, Stahl U,
Ustin SL (2016) Monitoring plant functional diversity from space. Nat Plants 2:16024. https://
doi.org/10.1038/NPLANTS.2016.24
Luque S, Pettorelli N, Vihervaara P, Wegmann M (2018) Improving biodiversity monitoring using
satellite remote sensing to provide solutions towards the 2020 conservation targets. Methods
Ecol Evol 9:1784–1786. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13057
Nagendra H (2001) Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity. Int J Remote Sens 22:2377–2400
Scholes RJ, Mace GM, Turner W, Geller GN, Jurgens N, Larigauderie A, Muchoney D, Walther BA,
Mooney HA (2008) Toward a global biodiversity observing system. Science 321:1044–1045
Social Learning Group (2001) Learning to manage global environmental risks. A functional analysis of social responses to climate change, ozone depletion, and acid rain. MIT (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology) Press, Cambridge, MA
Stoms DM, Estes JE (1993) A remote sensing research agenda for mapping and monitoring biodiversity. Int J Remote Sens 14:1839–1860
Turner W, Spector S, Gardiner N, Fladeland M, Sterling E, Steininger M (2003) Remote sensing
for biodiversity science and conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 18:306–314
20 Epilogue: Toward a Global Biodiversity Monitoring System
As GEO BON has demonstrated, a global biodiversity monitoring system must
be a coordinated effort among many international and national organizations and
user communities and be built upon the vast amount of existing knowledge and data
that has already been acquired. Taking full advantage of RS data and several advancing technologies will provide new insights into the status and trends in biodiversity,
ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services and support operational monitoring at
new scales. This will vastly enhance the understanding of our biological systems,
how they are changing, and how society should respond.
Acknowledgments Many of the ideas presented in this Epilogue reflect discussions within the
workshop on “Unlocking a New Era in Biodiversity Science” at the Keck Institute for Space
Studies. Participants, in addition to the chapter authors, included Laura Bertola, Elizabeth Blood,
Ana Carnaval, Patrick Comer, David Coomes, Néstor Fernández, Christian Frankenberg, Robert
Guralnick, Walter Jetz, Troy Magney, José Eduardo Meireles, Charles Miller, Enrique Montes,
Frank Muller-Karger, Helene Muller-Landau, Ruth Oliver, Monica Papeş, Ryan Pavlick, Naiara
Pinto, David Schimel, Anna Schweiger, Gary Spiers, Derek Tesser, David Thompson, Woody
Turner, and Maria Tzortziou. The research described herein was in part carried out at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA; government
sponsorship acknowledged.
References
Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F, Dickson NM, Eckley N, Guston DH, Jäger J, Mitchell RB (2003)
Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proc Natl Acad Sci 100:8086
Jetz W, Cavender-Bares J, Pavlik R, Schimel D, Davis FW, Asner GP, Guralnick R, Kattge J,
Latimer AM, Moorcroft P, Schaepman ME, Schildhauer MP, Schneider FD, Schrodt F, Stahl U,
Ustin SL (2016) Monitoring plant functional diversity from space. Nat Plants 2:16024. https://
doi.org/10.1038/NPLANTS.2016.24
Luque S, Pettorelli N, Vihervaara P, Wegmann M (2018) Improving biodiversity monitoring using
satellite remote sensing to provide solutions towards the 2020 conservation targets. Methods
Ecol Evol 9:1784–1786. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13057
Nagendra H (2001) Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity. Int J Remote Sens 22:2377–2400
Scholes RJ, Mace GM, Turner W, Geller GN, Jurgens N, Larigauderie A, Muchoney D, Walther BA,
Mooney HA (2008) Toward a global biodiversity observing system. Science 321:1044–1045
Social Learning Group (2001) Learning to manage global environmental risks. A functional analysis of social responses to climate change, ozone depletion, and acid rain. MIT (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology) Press, Cambridge, MA
Stoms DM, Estes JE (1993) A remote sensing research agenda for mapping and monitoring biodiversity. Int J Remote Sens 14:1839–1860
Turner W, Spector S, Gardiner N, Fladeland M, Sterling E, Steininger M (2003) Remote sensing
for biodiversity science and conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 18:306–314
20 Epilogue: Toward a Global Biodiversity Monitoring System