editorial remote sensing of sustainable ecosystems

3
Editorial Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems Yichun Xie , 1 Zongyao Sha , 2 and Victor Mesev 3 1 Institute for Geospatial Research & Education, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, USA 2 School of Remote Sensing & Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China 3 Department of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Yichun Xie; [email protected] Received 21 October 2018; Accepted 22 October 2018; Published 13 November 2018 Copyright © 2018 Yichun Xie et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 1. Introduction Ecosystems, containing biotic and abiotic elements, are complex communities that impact all aspects of the envi- ronment. Their equilibrium and sustainability are para- mount to their functionality, health, and survival. Remote sensing and other advanced geospatial data acquisition and processing techniques are critical for the measurement of sustainable ecosystems. This special issue includes the latest advancements in remote sensor systems and com- puting platforms that have made it possible to collect data on ecosystems quickly and routinely. In particular, there is an increasing volume of multispectral and hyperspectral data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), airborne and satellite sensors. They provide rich information for mapping, moni- toring, and analyzing a wide range of ecological applications. Big datasets from various remotely sensed platforms are essential for understanding the science behind ecosystem functions and thus provide critical insights on how ecosys- tems are sustainable. 2. Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems This special issue was proposed as a follow-up to GSES (Geoinformatics in Sustainable Ecosystem and Society) con- ference at Wuhan University, China, in September 2017. The forum covered diverse topics centering on advances in earth observation, geospatial analysis, and technologies and their applications in natural resource management and sustainable society. We received 18 papers submitted to this special issue, 6 of which were accepted and published after peer review (one-third acceptance rate). What binds the papers are themes for spatial observation (using ground-based in-situ sensors or moving sensors) for acquiring information on key ecosystem elements and innovative data assimilation strategies to improve our understanding of the interactions of those elements within or between ecosystems. The 6 accepted papers focus on the design of systematic data acquisition frames, the approaches for processing and extracting ecosystem-related datasets, and the models for understanding the science behind some ecosystems. In summary, the topics illustrated by the published papers include the following: (i) Advanced image processing and geostatistical tech- niques for analyzing and classifying hyperspectral data (ii) Calibrating unmanned aerial vehicles using hyper- spectral and digital surface models (iii) Accessing unlimited cloud computing resources for storing and transforming multisource data (iv) Big data analytics based on spatial modeling and machine learning to understand the science for pro- moting sustainable ecosystem services (v) Measuring leaf dust retention across visible and infrared wavelengths (vi) Application of Voronoi diagrams for simulation (vii) Mapping rare and protected ecosystem service capacities more accurately Hindawi Journal of Sensors Volume 2018, Article ID 9683415, 2 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9683415

Upload: others

Post on 18-May-2022

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Editorial Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

EditorialRemote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

Yichun Xie ,1 Zongyao Sha ,2 and Victor Mesev 3

1Institute for Geospatial Research & Education, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, USA2School of Remote Sensing & Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China3Department of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Yichun Xie; [email protected]

Received 21 October 2018; Accepted 22 October 2018; Published 13 November 2018

Copyright © 2018 Yichun Xie et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Introduction

Ecosystems, containing biotic and abiotic elements, arecomplex communities that impact all aspects of the envi-ronment. Their equilibrium and sustainability are para-mount to their functionality, health, and survival. Remotesensing and other advanced geospatial data acquisitionand processing techniques are critical for the measurementof sustainable ecosystems. This special issue includes thelatest advancements in remote sensor systems and com-puting platforms that have made it possible to collect dataon ecosystems quickly and routinely. In particular, there isan increasing volume of multispectral and hyperspectral datafrom unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), airborne and satellitesensors. They provide rich information for mapping, moni-toring, and analyzing a wide range of ecological applications.Big datasets from various remotely sensed platforms areessential for understanding the science behind ecosystemfunctions and thus provide critical insights on how ecosys-tems are sustainable.

2. Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

This special issue was proposed as a follow-up to GSES(Geoinformatics in Sustainable Ecosystem and Society) con-ference at Wuhan University, China, in September 2017. Theforum covered diverse topics centering on advances in earthobservation, geospatial analysis, and technologies and theirapplications in natural resource management and sustainablesociety. We received 18 papers submitted to this special issue,6 of which were accepted and published after peer review

(one-third acceptance rate). What binds the papers arethemes for spatial observation (using ground-based in-situsensors or moving sensors) for acquiring information onkey ecosystem elements and innovative data assimilationstrategies to improve our understanding of the interactionsof those elements within or between ecosystems. The 6accepted papers focus on the design of systematic dataacquisition frames, the approaches for processing andextracting ecosystem-related datasets, and the models forunderstanding the science behind some ecosystems. Insummary, the topics illustrated by the published papersinclude the following:

(i) Advanced image processing and geostatistical tech-niques for analyzing and classifying hyperspectraldata

(ii) Calibrating unmanned aerial vehicles using hyper-spectral and digital surface models

(iii) Accessing unlimited cloud computing resources forstoring and transforming multisource data

(iv) Big data analytics based on spatial modeling andmachine learning to understand the science for pro-moting sustainable ecosystem services

(v) Measuring leaf dust retention across visible andinfrared wavelengths

(vi) Application of Voronoi diagrams for simulation

(vii) Mapping rare and protected ecosystem servicecapacities more accurately

HindawiJournal of SensorsVolume 2018, Article ID 9683415, 2 pageshttps://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9683415

Page 2: Editorial Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

Conflicts of Interest

Based on my best knowledge, I and my co-guest editors ofthis special issue have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the authors for their valuable con-tributions in this special issue as well as all the reviewerswhose constructive suggestions helped to improve the qualityof the papers and the publication of this special issue. We alsothank Wuhan University, China, and Eastern MichiganUniversity, USA, for co-organizing the International Con-ference on Geoinformatics in Sustainable Ecosystem andSociety (GSES-2017) which provided the source for mostof the submitted papers to this special issue.

Yichun XieZongyao ShaVictor Mesev

2 Journal of Sensors

Page 3: Editorial Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

International Journal of

AerospaceEngineeringHindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

RoboticsJournal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Active and Passive Electronic Components

VLSI Design

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Shock and Vibration

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Civil EngineeringAdvances in

Acoustics and VibrationAdvances in

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Journal of

Advances inOptoElectronics

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com

Volume 2018

Hindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2013Hindawiwww.hindawi.com

The Scientific World Journal

Volume 2018

Control Scienceand Engineering

Journal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com

Journal ofEngineeringVolume 2018

SensorsJournal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

International Journal of

RotatingMachinery

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Modelling &Simulationin EngineeringHindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Chemical EngineeringInternational Journal of Antennas and

Propagation

International Journal of

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Hindawiwww.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Navigation and Observation

International Journal of

Hindawi

www.hindawi.com Volume 2018

Advances in

Multimedia

Submit your manuscripts atwww.hindawi.com