161
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_14
Evaluation of Ecological Integrity
in Landscape Based on Remote Sensing
Data
Jakub Zelený and Daniel Mercado-Bettín
Abstract Sustaining ecological integrity is recognized worldwide as a strategic
objective (e.g. the 2015 Paris Agreement), but a general consensus on the overall
methodology for assessing ecological integrity is still missing. This chapter presents
a contribution to the method of ecological integrity evaluation, using simple and
theoretically grounded method to calculate three holistic indicators: exergy capture,
biotic water flows and abiotic heterogeneity, utilizing open access remote sensing
data (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8). Three variables are proposed as a representation of
the respective indicators: NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), brightness temperature (BT) and vegetation surface heterogeneity (HG). Forests and wetlands have obtained higher results in the selected integrity indicators, while arable
lands and urban areas relatively lower. The relative distance between the potential
peak and the lowest performance in a landscape context is obtained by calculating a
composite Regional Index of Ecological Integrity (RIEI [%]). The proposed
approach can be used for various purposes including localization of naturally valuable areas, estimation of ecosystem condition or performance of
ecosystem management.
J. Zelený (*)
Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
D. Mercado-Bettín
Catalan Institute for Water Research, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
Grupo GIGA, Escuela Ambiental, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Antioquia,
Medellín, Colombia
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Westra et al. (eds.), Ecological Integrity in Science and Law,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46259-8_14
Evaluation of Ecological Integrity
in Landscape Based on Remote Sensing
Data
Jakub Zelený and Daniel Mercado-Bettín
Abstract Sustaining ecological integrity is recognized worldwide as a strategic
objective (e.g. the 2015 Paris Agreement), but a general consensus on the overall
methodology for assessing ecological integrity is still missing. This chapter presents
a contribution to the method of ecological integrity evaluation, using simple and
theoretically grounded method to calculate three holistic indicators: exergy capture,
biotic water flows and abiotic heterogeneity, utilizing open access remote sensing
data (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8). Three variables are proposed as a representation of
the respective indicators: NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), brightness temperature (BT) and vegetation surface heterogeneity (HG). Forests and wetlands have obtained higher results in the selected integrity indicators, while arable
lands and urban areas relatively lower. The relative distance between the potential
peak and the lowest performance in a landscape context is obtained by calculating a
composite Regional Index of Ecological Integrity (RIEI [%]). The proposed
approach can be used for various purposes including localization of naturally valuable areas, estimation of ecosystem condition or performance of
ecosystem management.
J. Zelený (*)
Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
D. Mercado-Bettín
Catalan Institute for Water Research, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
Grupo GIGA, Escuela Ambiental, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Antioquia,
Medellín, Colombia