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LANDSCAPE SCIENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: A NATO FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Citation:
Kepner, W G., F. Mueller, AND F W. Kutz. LANDSCAPE SCIENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: A NATO FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. Presented at 6th International Association for Landscape Ecology World Congress, Darwin, Australia, July 13-17, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
The primary objectives of this research are to:
Develop methodologies so that landscape indicator values generated from different sensors on different dates (but in the same areas) are comparable; differences in metric values result from landscape changes and not differences in the sensors;
Quantify relationships between landscape metrics generated from wall-to-wall spatial data and (1) specific parameters related to water resource conditions in different environmental settings across the US, including but not limited to nutrients, sediment, and benthic communities, and (2) multi-species habitat suitability;
Develop and validate multivariate models based on quantification studies;
Develop GIS/model assessment protocols and tools to characterize risk of nutrient and sediment TMDL exceedence;
Complete an initial draft (potentially web based) of a national landscape condition assessment.
This research directly supports long-term goals established in ORDs multiyear plans related to GPRA Goal 2 (Water) and GPRA Goal 4 (Healthy Communities and Ecosystems), although funding for this task comes from Goal 4. Relative to the GRPA Goal 2 multiyear plan, this research is intended to "provide tools to assess and diagnose impairment in aquatic systems and the sources of associated stressors." Relative to the Goal 4 Multiyear Plan this research is intended to (1) provide states and tribes with an ability to assess the condition of waterbodies in a scientifically defensible and representative way, while allowing for aggregation and assessment of trends at multiple scales, (2) assist Federal, State and Local managers in diagnosing the probable cause and forecasting future conditions in a scientifically defensible manner to protect and restore ecosystems, and (3) provide Federal, State and Local managers with a scientifically defensible way to assess current and future ecological conditions, and probable causes of impairments, and a way to evaluate alternative future management scenarios.
Description:
An international pilot study has been developed to explore the possibility of quantifying and assessing environmental condition, processes of land degradation, and subsequent impacts on natural and human resources by combining the advanced technologies of remote sensing, geographic information systems, spatial statistics, and process models with landscape ecology theory. This project has been established under the NATO Committee on the Challenges ofModern Society which has established a network of national experts within 46 countries in Europe and North America. The purpose of the study is to foster a framework for scientific cooperation which can lead to the transfer of technologies and information among the study group participants for their use in environmental protection and preservation programs.