Citation
Walsh, Stephen J. & Davis, F. W. (1994). Application of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems in Vegetation Science: Introduction. Journal of Vegetation Science, 5(5), 657-672.Abstract
New technologies such as aircraft- and satellite-borne multispectral scanners, imaging radar systems,global positioning systems, and Geographic Informa-tion Systems (GIS) are revolutionizing vegetation map-ping and modeling. These technologies have contrib-uted to a resurgence of interest in vegetation pattern andprocesses over regional to global domains, and havealso facilitated research into the role of landscape het-erogeneity in determining plant community and ecosys-tem dynamics. In the past, high hardware and softwarecost and the need for specialized technical trainingdiscouraged most vegetation scientists from using re-mote sensing and GIS. As data and computing systemshave become more available and affordable, plant ecolo-gists and phytogeographers are now exploring the use ofremote sensing and GIS in their research. These scien-tists bring a sophisticated view of plant communitiesand ecological processes to the analysis of digital mapsand imagery (e.g. Fredriksen & Lawesson 1992;Brzeziecki et al. 1993) that was generally lacking inearlier remote sensing and GIS applications. On theother hand, most vegetation scientists have little train-ing in environmental optics, image processing, compu-ter cartography, and quantitative spatial analysis, andare often unfamiliar with new developments in digitalanalysis of spatial data.URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.1994.tb00789.xReference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
1994Journal Title
Journal of Vegetation ScienceAuthor(s)
Walsh, Stephen J.Davis, F. W.