Advances in close-range and remote sensing technologies are driving innovations in forest resource assessments and monitoring on varying scales. Data acquired with airborne and spaceborne platforms provide high(er) spatial resolution, more frequent coverage, and more spectral information. Recent developments in ground-based sensors have advanced 3D measurements, low-cost permanent systems, and community-based monitoring of forests. The UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism has advanced the remote sensing community and the development of forest geospatial products that can be used by countries for the international reporting and national forest monitoring. However, an urgent need remains to better understand the options and limitations of remote and close-range sensing techniques in the field of forest degradation and forest change. Therefore, we invite scientists working on remote sensing technologies, close-range sensing, and field data to contribute to this Special Issue. Topics of interest include: (1) novel remote sensing applications that can meet the needs of forest resource information and REDD+ MRV, (2) case studies of applying remote sensing data for REDD+ MRV, (3) timeseries algorithms and methodologies for forest resource assessment on different spatial scales varying from the tree to the national level, and (4) novel close-range sensing applications that can support sustainable forestry and REDD+ MRV. We particularly welcome submissions on data fusion.

Advances in close-range and remote sensing technologies are driving innovations in forest resource assessments and monitoring on varying scales. Data acquired with airborne and spaceborne platforms provide high(er) spatial resolution, more frequent coverage, and more spectral information. Recent developments in ground-based sensors have advanced 3D measurements, low-cost permanent systems, and community-based monitoring of forests. The UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism has advanced the remote sensing community and the development of forest geospatial products that can be used by countries for the international reporting and national forest monitoring. However, an urgent need remains to better understand the options and limitations of remote and close-range sensing techniques in the field of forest degradation and forest change. Therefore, we invite scientists working on remote sensing technologies, close-range sensing, and field data to contribute to this Special Issue. Topics of interest include: (1) novel remote sensing applications that can meet the needs of forest resource information and REDD+ MRV, (2) case studies of applying remote sensing data for REDD+ MRV, (3) timeseries algorithms and methodologies for forest resource assessment on different spatial scales varying from the tree to the national level, and (4) novel close-range sensing applications that can support sustainable forestry and REDD+ MRV. We particularly welcome submissions on data fusion.

REDD+ is one of the leading near-term options for global climate change mitigation. More than 300 subnational REDD+ initiatives have been launched across the tropics, responding to both the call for demonstration activities in the Bali Action Plan and the market for voluntary carbon offset credits.

"This document builds on the brief paper presented at the 7th Meeting of the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board, held in Berlin, October 2011 (UNREDD/PB7/2011/13), which lays out ways to consider the REDD+ monitoring and information provision needs in the broader context of national development and environmental strategies, at the implementation level. The purpose of this document is to describe the elements in National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMSs) as they relate to REDD+ under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to describe the UN-REDD Programme approach to Monitoring and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (M & MRV) requirements."--Page v.

Above ground biomass has been listed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as one of the five most prominent, visible, and dynamic terrestrial carbon pools. The increased awareness of the impacts of climate change has seen a burgeoning need to consistently assess carbon stocks to combat carbon sequestration. An accurate estimation of carbon stocks and an understanding of the carbon sources and sinks can aid the improvement and accuracy of carbon flux models, an important pre-requisite of climate change impact projections. Based on 15 research topics, this book demonstrates the role of remote sensing in quantifying above ground biomass (forest, grass, woodlands) across varying spatial and temporal scales. The innovative application areas of the book include algorithm development and implementation, accuracy assessment, scaling issues (local–regional–global biomass mapping), and the integration of microwaves (i.e. LiDAR), along with optical sensors, forest biomass mapping, rangeland productivity and abundance (grass biomass, density, cover), bush encroachment biomass, and seasonal and long-term biomass monitoring.

Remote sensing has been successfully applied in monitoring of protected areas around the world. With intensified impacts of climate and environmental change, protected areas become increasingly important to serve as indicators of and buffers against the impacts of the disturbances. Remote sensing plays an irreplaceable role in this frontline of challenges. The subjects and contents of the articles collected in this book reflect the state-of-the-art applications of remote sensing for capturing dynamics of environmental and ecological variations of the protected areas. The examples include revealing the level, growth rate, trend, and distribution pattern of the night-time light of global protected areas; quantifying the energy budget, water cycle, and carbon sink over the Three-River Headwaters Region in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau; monitoring wetland change in a cross-boundary zone between Northeast China and the Russian Far East; and monitoring applications and change analyses in protected areas of boreal forests, dryland shrubs, coastal salt marshes, large lakes, and temperate semi-humid to semi-arid transitional agricultural regions, using a variety of sensor data with innovative approaches. Also included in this collection is a bibliometric analysis that suggests the intellectual structure in remote sensing of protected areas from the perspective of journal publications.

Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture: Transforming Scientific Advancement into Innovation compiles the latest applications of remote sensing in agriculture using spaceborne, airborne and drones' geospatial data. The book presents case studies, new algorithms and the latest methods surrounding crop sown area estimation, determining crop health status, assessment of vegetation dynamics, crop diseases identification, crop yield estimation, soil properties, drone image analysis for crop damage assessment, and other issues in precision agriculture. This book is ideal for those seeking to explore and implement remote sensing in an effective and efficient manner with its compendium of scientifically and technologically sound information. - Presents a well-integrated collection of chapters, with quality, consistency and continuity - Provides the latest RS techniques in Precision Agriculture that are addressed by leading experts - Includes detailed, yet geographically global case studies that can be easily understood, reproduced or implemented - Covers geospatial data, with codes available through shared links

′A magnificent achievement. A who′s who of contemporary remote sensing have produced an engaging, wide-ranging and scholarly review of the field in just one volume′ - Professor Paul Curran, Vice-Chancellor, Bournemouth University Remote Sensing acquires and interprets small or large-scale data about the Earth from a distance. Using a wide range of spatial, spectral, temporal, and radiometric scales Remote Sensing is a large and diverse field for which this Handbook will be the key research reference. Organized in four key sections: • Interactions of Electromagnetic Radiation with the Terrestrial Environment: chapters on Visible, Near-IR and Shortwave IR; Middle IR (3-5 micrometers); Thermal IR ; Microwave • Digital sensors and Image Characteristics: chapters on Sensor Technology; Coarse Spatial Resolution Optical Sensors ; Medium Spatial Resolution Optical Sensors; Fine Spatial Resolution Optical Sensors; Video Imaging and Multispectral Digital Photography; Hyperspectral Sensors; Radar and Passive Microwave Sensors; Lidar • Remote Sensing Analysis - Design and Implementation: chapters on Image Pre-Processing; Ground Data Collection; Integration with GIS; Quantitative Models in Remote Sensing; Validation and accuracy assessment; • Remote Sensing Analysis - Applications: LITHOSPHERIC SCIENCES: chapters on Topography; Geology; Soils; PLANT SCIENCES: Vegetation; Agriculture; HYDROSPHERIC and CRYSOPHERIC SCIENCES: Hydrosphere: Fresh and Ocean Water; Cryosphere; GLOBAL CHANGE AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS: Earth Systems; Human Environments & Links to the Social Sciences; Real Time Monitoring Systems and Disaster Management; Land Cover Change Illustrated throughout, an essential resource for the analysis of remotely sensed data, the SAGE Handbook of Remote Sensing provides researchers with a definitive statement of the core concepts and methodologies in the discipline.

This open access book focuses on the practical application of electromagnetic polarimetry principles in Earth remote sensing with an educational purpose. In the last decade, the operations from fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar such as the Japanese ALOS/PalSAR, the Canadian Radarsat-2 and the German TerraSAR-X and their easy data access for scientific use have developed further the research and data applications at L,C and X band. As a consequence, the wider distribution of polarimetric data sets across the remote sensing community boosted activity and development in polarimetric SAR applications, also in view of future missions. Numerous experiments with real data from spaceborne platforms are shown, with the aim of giving an up-to-date and complete treatment of the unique benefits of fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data in five different domains: forest, agriculture, cryosphere, urban and oceans.