Remote Sensing of Vegetation Biophysical and Biochemical Attributes as Indicators of Ecosystem Condition and Processes

植被和水是受到土地利用集约化、污染和气候变化等环境变化影响的关键资源。因此，环境土地管理需要更好地了解植被和水动态，以便管理森林、湿地和受保护/敏感地区。这方面的一个重要方面是需要关于这些资源的详细时空信息。我的长期研究目标是：发展关于植被和水的空间分布和时间动态的新知识，用于环境土地管理。我在森林、湿地和冻土带环境中工作，整合了从地方到区域尺度的实地和遥感研究。在1983年至今高、中分辨率遥感植被组成、结构、健康和生境制图研究的基础上，提出了在这三个环境中进行新的研究。森林研究将开发一种森林复杂性指数，可用作栖息地资源的指标。它将包括从高分辨率卫星图像和激光雷达数据中得出的森林结构参数以及从图像分类中得出的森林成分。建模结果将随着时间的推移进行分析，以绘制与已知干扰机制(如洪水和虫害)有关的变化。在湿地研究方面，将利用多尺度光学和Radarsat-2图像发展评估地表水动态和洪水衰减、植被多样性、人为影响以及稀有湿地和植被组的能力。在北极研究中，将使用高光谱卫星和Radarsat-2图像估计和绘制植被生物化学(特别是叶绿素含量)和结构图。这项研究将在植被和遥感科学的前沿以及实用的环境知识和方法方面做出重大贡献。这些将直接用于合作组织(加拿大环境部、安大略省自然资源部和国家资本委员会)，更广泛地用于加拿大和国际的环境土地管理。

Vegetation and water are critical resources that are being impacted by environmental change such as land use intensification, pollution and climate change. As a consequence, environmental land management requires improved understanding of vegetation and water dynamics for management of forests, wetlands, and protected/sensitive areas. An important aspect of this is a need for detailed spatio-temporal information on these resources. My long-term research goal is: Develop new knowledge on the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of vegetation and water for use in environmental land management. I work in forest, wetland and tundra environments, integrating field and remote sensing studies at local to regional scales. Building on a research foundation (1983- present) in high to moderate resolution remote sensing for vegetation composition, structure, health and habitat mapping, new research is proposed in these three environments. The forest research will develop an index of forest complexity that can be used as an indicator of habitat resources. It will include forest structure parameters derived from high resolution satellite imagery and LiDAR data along with forest composition derived from image classification. The modeling results will be analyzed over time to map changes that are occurring in relation to known disturbance mechanisms such as inundation and insect infestation. In wetlands research, capability for assessment of surface water dynamics and flood attenuation, vegetation diversity, anthropogenic impact and rare wetland and vegetation groups will be developed using multiple scale optical and Radarsat-2 imagery. In arctic research, vegetation biochemistry (specifically chlorophyll content) and structure will be estimated and mapped using hyperspectral satellite and Radarsat-2 imagery. The research will produce significant contributions at the forefront of the vegetation and remote sensing sciences as well as practical environmental knowledge and methods. These will be of direct use to the collaborating organizations (Environment Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Capital Commission) and more broadly in environmental land management across Canada and internationally.