Quantifying landscape-level land-use intensity patterns through radar-based remote sensing
Howison, R.A.; Piersma, T.; Kentie, R.; Hooijmeijer, C.E.W.; Olff, H. (2018). Quantifying landscape-level land-use intensity patterns through radar-based remote sensing. J. Appl. Ecol. 55(3): 1276-1287. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13077Additional data: In: Journal of Applied Ecology. British Ecological Society: Oxford. ISSN 0021-8901; e-ISSN 1365-2664, more |   |
| Author keywords | black-tailed godwit; change detection; habitat preference; land-useintensity; MODIS EVI; mowing frequency; radar; remote sensing; SentinelC-SAR; temporal stability |
| Authors | | Top | - Howison, R.A.
- Piersma, T., more
- Kentie, R., more
| - Hooijmeijer, C.E.W.
- Olff, H.
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| Abstract | 1. The increasing availability of high resolution and high frequency, radar-basedremotesensing data (i.e. observations on land surface characteristics, insensitive tocloud interference), makes it possible to track land-useintensity more precisely atthe whole landscape scale.2. Here, we develop a new radar-basedremote sensing technique for large-scalequantification of agricultural land-useintensity across human-dominatedlandscapes.We compare the respective abilities of Sentinel-1C-bandradar (C-SAR,C-bandsynthetic aperture radar) remote sensing data with the more traditionaloptical data, as MODIS enhanced vegetation indices (MODIS EVI), in capturing seasonalityand the magnitude of land-useintensity (quantity and frequency of biomassremoval). Linking our novel radar-basedchange detection algorithm toagricultural management activities on the ground, we quantify a whole landscapeaccording to timing of mowing, a key grassland disturbance, thus capturing thedynamics of mowing regimes in grasslands.3. We found that the radar-basedproxy provides a rapid and reliable measure of land-useintensity, reliably predicting plant community composition at the landscapescale.4. We tested this methodology using data on black-tailedgodwits (Limosa limosalimosa), a specialist breeder of lowland meadows which, over the last 50 years, hasshown dramatic declines. During territory establishment, black-tailedgodwits preferentiallyused fields corresponding to intermediate radar-sensedland-useintensities.However, the present-daytiming of mowing in these habitats was such thatmost godwit broods were less likely to be successful than broods in grasslands usedat a lower intensity.5. Synthesis and applications. The newly developed radar-basedland-useintensityquantification is a powerful tool that makes it possible for ecologists and land managersto include agricultural land-useintensity measurements in population studiesof the plants, insects, birds and mammals using these landscapes, at the spatialscale of entire populations. Applications of this tool include evaluating the effectivenessof European agri-environmentschemes aiming to increase biodiversity |
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