About the book:

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.