Citation
Walsh, Stephen J. (2007). Remote Sensing of Invasive Plants in the Galapagos National Park and Archipelago, Ecuador: Merging Hyper-Spatial and Hyper-Spectral Data for Enhanced Mapping.
Directions Magazine.
Abstract
The Galapagos Islands are part of the Republic of Ecuador, and are located in the Pacific Ocean approximately 1,000-km from mainland Ecuador. Nearly 97% of the total land area of the islands is designated as National Park, and the remaining 3% is a colonized zone with urban and farm areas. In the archipelago, three primary subsystems exist: Terrestrial Park, Marine Reserve and Human Use Areas. These subsystems are interdependent and any alteration of one subsystem has a profound effect on the others. Interactions among these subsystems have immense consequences for resource conservation, development and system dynamics. For instance, invasive plant species threaten native and endemic flora and fauna and cause a loss of biodiversity and ecological services, which are linked to human occupation, settlement patterns, farm abandonment and alternate household livelihood strategies. Exotic species are, relative to the number of species they endanger, the least studied threat to biodiversity (Lawler et al. 2006).
URL
https://www.directionsmag.com/article/2721Reference Type
Journal Article
Year Published
2007
Journal Title
Directions Magazine
Author(s)
Walsh, Stephen J.
ORCiD
Walsh, S - 0000-0001-6274-9381
