An effective procedure for EUNIS and Natura 2000 habitat type mapping in estuarine ecosystems integrating ecological knowledge and remote sensing analysis

Abstract Standardized regional maps of coastal habitats can help in the development of predictive models of the transitional ecosystem dynamics and can facilitate strategic trans-boundary planning of protected areas to maximize management and conservation. Habitats might also be interpreted as reflecting ecosystem processes such as productivity and structure, thereby allowing the ecosystem functions to be examined at larger scales. The specific challenge of this paper is to develop and standardize a methodology from Earth Observation imagery analysis to generate classifications such as Natura 2000 and EUNIS habitat types that coastal managers can use to improve the ability of coupling coastal biogeomorphology knowledge and the final decision within the management process. By using in situ measurements collected with a field spectral radiometer and a sub-pixel analysis of satellite multispectral imagery a classification procedure that can be used in mapping and describing transitional habitats with appropriate resolution and scale of observation is defined.

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