Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing
are emerging tools for river research and management (e.g., assessments of flooding
and sedimentation processes, vegetation dynamics, landscape changes and ecological
risks, as well as the integrated multi-disciplinary studies required for river
management). The book describes the background, goals and results of an intemational
workshop on the application of geographic information systems and remote sensing
in river studies, organised by the universities of Nijmegen, Ronen and Hertfordshire.
it is not designed to be a textbook on the technical aspects of GIS and remote
sensing, but it fills a niche in novel applications of these tools in river
science. It is part of a triptych of books in the aquatic sciences series of
Backhuys Publishers, which covers the scientific concepts, approaches and tools
within the landscape and ecological system domain of river research and management.
This domain focuses on the structure and functioning of riverine ecosystems.
By their very nature, riverine ecosystems are very dynamic and relatively inaccessible
to humans: remote sensing has proved to be an invaluable tool for measuring
and mapping riverine ecosystem and landscape features. The combination of remotely
sensed data with GIS may provide synoptic information on the structure and functioning
of riverine ecosystems and the spatial pattem of riverine landscapes (fragmentation,
connectivity); offering new opportunities to study and manage their dynamic
character and multiple scales of organisation.
The book aims to (1) publish the experiences with novel applications of geographic
information systems and remote sensing in river studies; (2) disseminate the
results of the case studies in river research and management. The papers are
arranged in four sections, (1) introduction and methodological framework, (2)
applications of remote sensing, (3) GIS applications and (4) discussion and
state of the art. In addition, the book contains an author index and a detailed
subject index, with references to definitions and descriptions of relevant notions,
acronyms, concepts, approaches, methods, techniques and study sites. The target
group contains people interested in research and management of lowland river
basins (scientists, students, policy makers, water managers).
Contents
Application of geographic information systems and remote sensing in river studies:
general introduction
R.S.E.W. Leuven, I. Poudevigne and R.M. Teeuw
Biodiversity in changing landscapes: from species or patch
assemblages to system organisation
D. Alard and I. Poudevigne
Applications of Remote sensing
Blanket
bog degradation in river catchments in the West of Ireland
G. W. Geerling, C.B.L. Van Gestel, M. Sheehy Skeffington, M.G.C. Schouten, P.H.
Nienhuis & R.S.E.W. Leuven.
Use of aerial photography and digital photogrammetry in
the assessment of river channel destabilisation
N.J. Mount, P.M. Zukowskyi, R.M. Teeuw and T.A. Stott
The use of SPOT imagery as a tool for ecological analysis
of river floodplains: a case study in the Seine valley
A. Bourcier, I. Poudevigne & R.M. Teeuw
Use of geographic information systems and remote sensing
for river management: Thames Region, UK Environment Agency
K. Farthing &. R.M. Teeuw
Application of remote sensing and GIS-based modelling in
the analysis of floodplain sedimentation
H. Middelkoop
Applications of geographic information systems
A comparison of interpolation procedures for deriving river long profiles from
digital contour data
P.M. Zukowskyi & R.M. Teeuw.
GIS as a tool for incorporating the spatial variability
of pollutants in ecological risk assessments of Dutch river floodplains
L. Kooistra, R.S.E.W. Leuven, R. Wehrens, L.M.C. Buydens & P.H. Nienhuis
Assessing the impacts of drought on macrophyte communities
occupying the headwaters of chalk streams in the Thames basin
C.G. Westwood & R.M. Teeuw
LARCH: an ecological application of GIS in river studies
R. Jochem, B.J.H. Koolstra & J.P.Chardon
Patterns of landscape dynamics and their consequences on
ecological communities: an application of geographic information systems and
remote sensing in the Seine valley
I. Poudevigne, O. Chabrerie, A. Jackson, S. Van den Berg, J.C. Bourcier &
D. Alard
Impact of ecological rehabilitation and infrastructure
works on habitat suitability for flora and fauna target species of the middle
reach of the river Waal
R.S.E.W. Leuven, Y. Gerig, I. Poudevigne, G. W. Geerling, J. Klaver & B.W.G.
Aarts
Validation of algorithms for modelling presence, abundance
and distribution of target species of river management
A. Spierings, R.S.E.W. Leuven & I. Poudevigne
Discussion and state of the art
Remote sensing and geographic information systems as emerging tools for riverine
habitat and landscape evaluation: from concepts to models
R.S.E.W. Leuven, I. Poudevigne & R.M. Teeuw
Index of authors.
Subject index.