Appropriate management of (semi-)natural areas requires detailed knowledge of the ecosystems present and their status. Remote sensing can provide a systematic, synoptic view at regular time intervals, and is therefore often suggested as a powerful tool to assist with the mapping and monitoring of protected habitats and vegetation. In this study, we present a multi-step mapping framework that en...

Habitat monitoring of designated areas under the EU Habitats Directive requires every 6 years information on area, range, structure and function for the protected (Annex I) habitat types. First results from studies on heathland areas in Belgium and the Netherlands show that hyperspectral imagery can be an important source of information to assist the evaluation of the habitat conservation statu...

Assessing the effects of the spatial components on species diversity in a network of protected areas represents an important step for assessing its conservation ‘‘capacity’’. A clear evaluation on how a-, b-, and c-diversity are partitioned among and within spatial scales can help to drive manager decisions and provide method for monitoring species diversity. Moving from these concepts, a proba...

The Baltic Sea belongs to a global system of protected area and has a status of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) which results in a mechanism for strict control on interna tional shipping activities within designated areas through the UN International Maritime Or ganization (IMO). Countries can declare such areas, and then establish rules for t heir protection. Additionaly almost the enti...

In Europe, Natura 2000 sites should protect threatened target species and networks of habitats. The management grasslands is often financed by subsidized grazing as part the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We studied extent CAP for how this affects a butterfly (the marsh fritillary) floral resources. Based on extensive capture-mark-release studies from 2 years in >550 ha grid cells 225 km2 la...

In this study we explore for the first time combined effect of climate variables and remote sensing land cover indicators on bird richness in a representative wetland location Thermaikos gulf Natura 2000 protected area Northern Greece. particular association between diversity climate, as well sensed indices was explored seven successive seasons using correlation analysis Cox-Box transformed mul...