Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 13
Landscape Approaches and GIS for Biodiversity
Management
Stefan Schindler, Kostas Poirazidis, Aristotelis Papageorgiou, Dionisios
Kalivas, Henrik Von Wehrden, and Vassiliki Kati
13.1 Landscape Approaches for Biodiversity Management
Landscape approaches and geographical information systems (GIS) have been play-
ing an increasing role in biogeography and conservation biology over the last
decade (Gaston, 2000; Foody, 2008; Gillespie, Foody, Rocchini, Giorgi, & Saatchi,
2008). Within this period, the number of papers using GIS published in the journal
Landscape Ecology has roughly doubled (Anderson, 2008). Especially remote-
sensing applications have grown in importance within recent years. Remote sensing
now routinely provides environmental information ranging from global to local
scales, and geographical information systems provide, among other applications,
necessary interfaces to store, analyse and visualise spatial data; increased com-
putational capacities triggered even more such applications. In this chapter, we
demonstrate how the combination of landscape approaches, remote sensing and GIS
aids conservation and management of biodiversity. We therefore summarise six case
studies from Dadia National Park (Dadia NP), in north-eastern Greece. The studies
aimed at (1) modelling of nesting habitat for a flagship species, (2) evaluation of
land-use change, (3) detecting statistical dimensions and spatial patterns of land-
scape structure, (4) testing the performance of landscape metrics as indicators of
biodiversity, (5) developing a GIS approach for a systematic raptor monitoring, and
(6) developing a decision-support system to optimise conservation of biodiversity
in managed forests.
13.2 Study Area and GIS Data
The study area, the Dadia NP, is situated in the Evros prefecture in north-eastern
Greece (Fig. 13.1). Its extent of about 430 km
2
includes two strictly protected
core areas covering 73.5 km
2
. The mountainous area (altitudes ranging from 20
to 645 m above sea level) is covered by extensive pine (
Pinus brutia, P. nigra
)
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