Remote
sensing is the science of deriving information about the earth’s
land and water areas from images acquired from a distance.
Scientists who study biodiversity use remote sensing to monitor
local and global changes over time, map forests and study
habitat fragmentation, estimate habitat availability and assess
potential threats in the future.
Conservation biologists at the Smithsonian have used remote sensing images to predict wintering habitat availability for neotropical migratory birds in Central America, to monitor ecological changes in fresh and saltwater tidal marshes in Virginia, and to develop strategies for conserving critical habitat for endangered species such as the giant panda, Burmese brow-antlered deer, and golden-cheeked warbler.
Among the highlights of the Forest Biodiversity Monitoring Project is the use of remote sensing images of the local area around each school, and the training of teachers and students to interpret and utilize the images for classroom instruction. The program fosters its participants’ skills in making observation of the natural world, forming hypotheses about the patterns observed and designing simple ground-truthing tests to evaluate hypotheses. (See teacher manual section on remote sensing.)
