Shugart, Herman (Hank): University of Virginia (Project Lead)
Project Funding:
2007 - 2010
NRA: 2006 NASA: Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science
Funded by NASA
Abstract:
The proposed project presents a remotely-sensed data-driven modeling initiative aimed at evaluating the long-term habitat availability for a critically endangered large carnivorous species in the Russian Far East - the Amur tiger and the Amur leopard. Russian forests are a stronghold for large carnivore preservation efforts because they provide large interconnected areas of suitable habitat necessary to support a minimum viable population of a given species. The projected increase in the occurrence and spatial extent of natural forest disturbances (primarily fire) in a changing climate and an ongoing expansion of logging activities under the prevailing resource-oriented economic model will lead to destruction, degradation, and fragmentation of available habitat. Additionally, climate induced changes in post-disturbance recovery and species composition are likely to force a shift in the carnivorous species distribution to other areas. While the existence of suitable habitat in the future is expected, a need exists for a spatially explicit analysis of habitat change in a temporally dynamic framework to ensure the connectivity of the current and potential future suitable habitats, which will facilitate the successful migration of the carnivores and their prey species. This project is designed to continue the ongoing NASA-sponsored research projects in the area and build upon their results. It will model habitat distribution using the FAREAST forest succession model. This model will utilize inputs on forest cover and disturbances provided by the decision-tree based fusion of remotely sensed data products from passive optical (MODIS, MISR, MSS, TM, ETM+, ASTER), radar (ENVISAT ASAR, ALOS PALSAR) and lidar (ICESAT) sensors. This project will make a significant contribution to the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) program by assessing disturbance-driven forest change in the NEESPI area. Additionally, it will strongly contribute to Amur tiger and leopard conservation efforts.
Publications:
Frolking, S., Palace, M. W., Clark, D. B., Chambers, J. Q., Shugart, H. H., Hurtt, G. C. 2009. Forest disturbance and recovery: A general review in the context of spaceborne remote sensing of impacts on aboveground biomass and canopy structure. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 114(G2). DOI: 10.1029/2008jg000911
2008 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Posters
- Wildland fire threat to the Amur tiger: current levels and future scenarios under the influence of climate change
-- (Tatiana V Loboda, Ivan A Csiszar)
[abstract]
- Simulating the Effects of Fire on Forests in the Russian Far East: Integrating a Fire Danger Model and the FAREAST Forest Growth Model Across a Complex Landscape
-- (Nancy J Sherman, Tatiana Loboda, Ivan Csiszar, Herman H Shugart, Guoqing Sun)
[abstract]
[poster]
More details may be found in the following project profile(s):