The contribution of satellite-based spatial observations to public awareness of past and ongoing environmental changes is indisputable. It, however, merits increasing (1) methodological and (2) thematic research. The remote sensing research at Geomatic department are dedicated to these two aspects:
(1) ‘Pretty images are not enough‘: not only the potential but the limitations of satellite sensor (remote sensing) data for monitoring environmental and vegetation characteristics must be evaluated through the test and development of robust methods to be validated by ground truth data and remote sensing signal physics.
(2) A better understanding of the underlying processes at the origin of changes in vegetation extent, structure and biodiversity, as revealed by multiscale remote sensing observations and field studies, is expected.
The case study of tropical forests, in particular mangroves, is a focal point of our activities as part a larger aim oriented to the monitoring of environmental changes in South Asia.
Example: Proisy C., Viennois G., Sidik F., Andayani A., Enright J.A., Guitet S., Gusmawati N., Lemonnier H., Muthusankar G., Olagoke A., Prosperi J., Rahmania R., Ricout A., Soulard B., &Suhardjono (2018). Monitoring mangrove forests after aquaculture abandonment using time series of very high spatial resolution satellite images: A case study from the Perancak estuary, Bali, Indonesia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 131, 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.056