“Monitoring and Modelling of Global Change” is a well-established topic at the annual GI_Forum conference. Within GI-Forum 2013, a special session on Ecosystem and Biodiversity Monitoring is organized by the Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS, University of Salzburg.

“Global change” – a short formula for a multitude of anticipated shifts in societal and environmental domains due to global drivers – calls for spatial monitoring and modelling techniques to better understand the implications and potential dynamics of such changes. International programmes and visions (GEO, GMES, SEIS, …) envisage unified systems based on quality standards for data, products and services to establish optimized observation and forecasting capacity within Europe, and also globally.

A special session at GI_Forum 2013 will focus on the outcomes of FP7 projects MS.MONINA, BIO_SOS and related activities, that highlight the potential of EO data and technologies in support of biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring. In Europe, nature conservation rests upon a strong, yet ambitious policy framework with legally binding directives. Thus, geospatial information products are required at all levels of implementation. With recent advances in EO data availability and the forthcoming of powerful data analysis tools we enter a new dimension of satellite-based services. Recent achievements of such endeavors are showcased and challenges discussed, using best practice examples from both inside and outside Europe.

We especially welcome papers and posters that demonstrate experiences and solutions in dealing with EO-based ecosystem and biodiversity monitoring.

Deadline February 1, 2013

More information: http://www.gi-forum.org/EO4Hab [will be active soon]