Abstract
The interdisciplinary project focuses on the applicability of very high-spatial resolution satellite data as a tool in basic ecological research and in habitat monitoring within agricultural landscapes. Much of the biodiversity value of agricultural landscapes depends on the preservation of fragmented semi-natural habitats (such as semi-natural grasslands) and future sustainable planning of these landscapes requires the development of improved information sources and techniques for monitoring and forecasting land change and species diversity. The project addresses two main questions. 1) At what accuracy can grassland site variables (e.g. size, isolation, shape, grazing intensity, field-layer height, above-ground biomass, shrub cover, stage in the arable-to-grassland chronosequence, habitat heterogeneity) and landscape variables (e.g. connectivity between sites, proportions and types of habitats adjacent to sites) be measured, and at what accuracy may the temporal dynamics of grassland habitats and fragmented landscapes be tracked with the help of satellite data? 2) Which combinations of satellite-generated variables provide the most parsimonious and informative explanatory models for plant species diversity? Studies will be performed in a local landscape and compared with results from other areas. Interacting with stakeholders, the project will provide cost-effective methods for use in basic ecological research and in biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes.
Sweden