PILOT STUDY ON THE USE OF LANDSCAPE SCIENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT A Science Framework for International Cooperation Committee on the Challenges.

PILOT STUDY ON THE USE OF LANDSCAPE SCIENCES

FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

A Science Framework for International Cooperation

Committee on the Challenges of Modern SocietyCommittee on the Challenges of Modern Society

North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization

The Pilot Study will explore the potential of quantifying and assessing environmental condition, processes of land degradation, and subsequent impacts on natural and human resources, including security, by combining the advanced technologies of remote sensing, geographic information systems, spatial statistics, and process models with landscape ecology theory.

Pilot Study Goal

NATO/CCMS Pilot Study Objectives:

• To illustrate the utility of this approach in public health and environmental decision-making, planning and ecological preservation/restoration projects

• To demonstrate the use of landscape sciences for environmental assessment

Landscape Ecology

Landscape ecology is the study of the

distribution patterns of communities and

ecosystems, the ecological processes that

affect those patterns, and changes in both

pattern and process over time.

Environmental Assessment

A process by which scientific evidence and technological information are analyzed for the purpose of evaluating present condition or forecasting the outcomes of alternative future courses of action.

Assessments related to socially relevant endpoints:

• Sustainability

(economic, environmental, and public health)

• Watershed condition

(water quality and quantity)

• Biodiversity

(wildlife habitat)

Emphasis Areas of the Pilot Study

Landscape characterization (land use/land cover)

Land cover change detection

Landscape indicators

Landscape theory and models

Landscape assessment

• Project proposal accepted at NATO/CCMS Plenary Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, 22-23 March 2001

• First Organizational Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 3-5 April 2002

• 2nd Project Meeting, Kulturzentrum Salzau, Germany, 19-21 November 2002

• 3rd Project Meeting, Debe, Poland, 3-5 September 2003

• 4th Project Meeting, Lecce, Italy, 5-9 September 2004

• 5th Project Meeting, Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, 4-8 September 2005

Landscape Sciences Pilot Study History

• Workshops/Conferences

• Published Conference Proceedings

• Digital maps, analytical tools, models, and database summaries

• NATO/CCMS Report with national project summaries

Proposed Products

National Participants:National Participants:

Austria ItalyAustria Italy Romania Romania

Bulgaria LatviaBulgaria Latvia Russian FederationRussian Federation

Finland LithuaniaFinland Lithuania TurkeyTurkey

Georgia NorwayGeorgia Norway UkraineUkraine

Germany PolandGermany Poland United StatesUnited States

Australia: Non-member

http://www.nato.int/ccms/pilot-studies/lsea/lsea-index.htm

Further information on the Use of Landscape Sciences Further information on the Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment can be obtained fromfor Environmental Assessment can be obtained from:

William KepnerWilliam Kepner

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Las Vegas, Nevada, USAand Development, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

kepner.william@epa.govkepner.william@epa.gov

Felix MuellerFelix Mueller

Ecology Center, University of Kiel, GermanyEcology Center, University of Kiel, Germany

felix@ecology.uni-kiel.defelix@ecology.uni-kiel.de