Floods are one of the most common hazards in the world, affect ing people’s lives and livelihoods. Flood hazard mapping and flood shelters suitability analysis are v ital elements in appropriate land use planning for flood-prone areas. This paper describes application of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in identifying flood hazard zones and flood shelters and are t...

The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia (IM) are under increasing stress owing to climate change and rapid socio-economic development in the recent past. We investigated changes in land cover/land use and landscape structure between 1992 and 2004 through the analysis of AVHRR and MODIS derived land cover data. The scale of analysis included the regional level (i.e. the whole of IM) as well a...

Throughout their recent recovery in several industrialized countries, large carnivores have had to cope with a changed landscape dominated by human infrastructure. Population growth depends on the ability of individuals to adapt to these changes by making use of new habitat features and at the same time to avoid increased risks of mortality associated with human infrastructure. We analyzed the ...

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images are being used more extensively than ever before for geoscience applications in the moist tropics. In this investigation, a RADARSAT1-1 C-HH SAR image acquired in 1998 was used for coastal mapping and land-cover assessment in the Bragança area, in the northern Brazil. The airborne GEMS 1000 X-HH radar image acquired in 1972 during the RADAM Project was also...

The objective of the present study is to assess the direct impact of a rapid change in climate on the amphibious and terrestrial ecosystems of the Weser Estuary, northern Germany, for the year 2050, discounting morphological adaptation. The status quo was documented on the basis of land cover classifications called ‘biotope types’. Elevation, soil type, vegetation and land use data were digitis...

The dynamic relationship between vegetation and climate is now widely acknowledged. Climate influences the distribution of vegetation; and through a number of feedback mechanisms vegetation affects climate. This implies that land-use changes such as deforestation will have climatic consequences. However, the spatial scales at which such feedbacks occur remain largely unknown. Here, we use a lar...

Little is known about the spatial ecology and ranging behaviour of vultures in Europe. In this paper we used GPS satellite telemetry to assess home-ranges of eight non-breeding Eurasian Griffon Vultures in Spain, trying to answer the main questions on when (i.e. the time of the day), how far (i.e. hourly and daily distances) and where vultures range (i.e. home-range size). Results indicated tha...

Geoinformation derived from Earth observation (EO) plays a key role for detecting, analyzing and monitoring landslides to assist hazard and risk analysis. Within the framework of the EC-GMES-FP7 project SAFER (Services and Applications For Emergency Response) a semi-automated object-based approach for landslide detection and classification has been developed. The method was applied to a case st...

In Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) has been observed to be declining on elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) winter range for many decades. To support elk management decisions, the SAVANNA ecosystem model was adapted to explore interactions between elk herbivory and aspen dynamics. The simulated probability of successful vegetative regeneration for senescent aspe...

Obtaining reliable estimates of the structure of carnivore communities is of paramount importance because of their ecological roles, ecosystem services and impact on biodiversity conservation, but they are still scarce. This information is key for carnivore management: to build support for and acceptance of management decisions and policies it is crucial that those decisions are based on robust...