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Regulating ecosystem services Benefits from ecosystem processes that help
maintain the Earth’s life support systems; examples include maintenance of the
quality of air and soil, flood and disease control, and crop pollination; also called
Nature’s Contributions to People (NCPs) within the IPBES framework.
Remote sensing Measurement of an object from a distance without physical
contact. Usually involves detectors that measure energy in the visible to shortwave infrared or the thermal infrared region. Both passive instruments and
active instruments (like LiDAR and radar sensors) are considered remote sensing instruments, as are various “sounders” that probe the atmosphere measuring
in the optical or thermal bands, or certain acoustic instruments that detect and
measure sound.
Remote sensing products Data or information obtained from remote sensing, often in the form of spectral information or maps of quantities of interest
expressed a raster grid.
Reproducible research Research where the data and methods are available and
sufficiently explained so that others can, without help from the original researchers, perform the same analysis and get the same results. Research where datasets
are only available upon request from authors (who may lose them, leave the field,
etc.) or where methods are opaque or not available (outliers removed by hand,
unavailable scripts used to process data) are not reproducible.
Resilience The ability to return to an original functional state, e.g., the capacity of
an ecosystem to regain its function after disturbance.
Resistance The ability of an ecosystem (or any system) to maintain function and
not be adversely affected by a perturbation or stress (such as drought).
Resolution The smallest interval an instrument can measure (e.g., spectral, radiometric, spatial, or temporal resolution) based on detector characteristics or principles of measurement.
Retrieval Obtaining information or values of interest. In remote sensing, retrieval
implies that values of interest are derived from measurements and models, i.e.,
the process of finding the inverse of a forward function which describes the relation between the measurements and the values of the quantities of interest (e.g.,
vegetation properties, atmospheric concentrations, water column values).
Retrieval algorithm The computer calculation used to make a remote sensing
estimation of a property (see retrieval).
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) A nitrogencontaining enzyme that catalyzes the reaction that fixes carbon dioxide to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP)to form three-carbon sugars in the “dark reactions”
of photosynthesis. RuBisCO also catalyzes the reaction that binds RuBP with
oxygen and releases carbon dioxide in photorespiration. It is the most abundant
enzyme on Earth.
Root exudates Secretions from plant roots that alter local soil conditions and soil
chemistry, which influences microbial processes.
Root mean square error (RMSE) A measure of the differences between values
(sample or population values) predicted by a model or an estimator and the values observed. Also known as root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) or root-meansquared error.
Glossary
Regulating ecosystem services Benefits from ecosystem processes that help
maintain the Earth’s life support systems; examples include maintenance of the
quality of air and soil, flood and disease control, and crop pollination; also called
Nature’s Contributions to People (NCPs) within the IPBES framework.
Remote sensing Measurement of an object from a distance without physical
contact. Usually involves detectors that measure energy in the visible to shortwave infrared or the thermal infrared region. Both passive instruments and
active instruments (like LiDAR and radar sensors) are considered remote sensing instruments, as are various “sounders” that probe the atmosphere measuring
in the optical or thermal bands, or certain acoustic instruments that detect and
measure sound.
Remote sensing products Data or information obtained from remote sensing, often in the form of spectral information or maps of quantities of interest
expressed a raster grid.
Reproducible research Research where the data and methods are available and
sufficiently explained so that others can, without help from the original researchers, perform the same analysis and get the same results. Research where datasets
are only available upon request from authors (who may lose them, leave the field,
etc.) or where methods are opaque or not available (outliers removed by hand,
unavailable scripts used to process data) are not reproducible.
Resilience The ability to return to an original functional state, e.g., the capacity of
an ecosystem to regain its function after disturbance.
Resistance The ability of an ecosystem (or any system) to maintain function and
not be adversely affected by a perturbation or stress (such as drought).
Resolution The smallest interval an instrument can measure (e.g., spectral, radiometric, spatial, or temporal resolution) based on detector characteristics or principles of measurement.
Retrieval Obtaining information or values of interest. In remote sensing, retrieval
implies that values of interest are derived from measurements and models, i.e.,
the process of finding the inverse of a forward function which describes the relation between the measurements and the values of the quantities of interest (e.g.,
vegetation properties, atmospheric concentrations, water column values).
Retrieval algorithm The computer calculation used to make a remote sensing
estimation of a property (see retrieval).
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) A nitrogencontaining enzyme that catalyzes the reaction that fixes carbon dioxide to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP)to form three-carbon sugars in the “dark reactions”
of photosynthesis. RuBisCO also catalyzes the reaction that binds RuBP with
oxygen and releases carbon dioxide in photorespiration. It is the most abundant
enzyme on Earth.
Root exudates Secretions from plant roots that alter local soil conditions and soil
chemistry, which influences microbial processes.
Root mean square error (RMSE) A measure of the differences between values
(sample or population values) predicted by a model or an estimator and the values observed. Also known as root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) or root-meansquared error.
Glossary