Abstract
The background of this feature article is a necessity to systematize a vast array of issues pertinent to the latest applications of remote sensing in coastal and marine conservation. Hence the purpose of this study: stocktaking of cutting-edge research articles in this field and eliciting the essential trends and issues shaping the knowledge and future research and technical development perspectives in coastal and marine nature conservation, which is pivotal for meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals till 2030. A hierarchical cluster analysis was undertaken with the KH Coder 3.0 tool to elicit topical co-occurrence networks for thematic words in academic papers from 2015 to 2021 on the topic quarried from Scholar Google. The article’s main findings are the elicited four main trending themes in applications of remote sensing in coastal and marine conservation: (1) Remote Sensing-Based Classification and Modelling; (2) Conservation of Tropical Coastal and Marine Habitats; (3) Mapping of Habitats and Species Distribution; (4) Ecosystem and Biodiversity Conservation and Resource Management. The main conclusion of the article is that habitat vulnerability is a key factor to take into consideration for the future hybrid applications of remote sensing and “citizen science” inputs.
Highlights
Because the object of the study is the use of satellite RS methods for the spatial analysis of MPAs, four key search terms were used to select the database of articles: “geographical information systems (GIS)”, “marine protected areas”, “remote sensing”, and “satellite”, according to the following principles: (1) The research article must be published in English; (2) The research article must be submitted in a format that can be converted to a text format
The visualizations of the essential excerpts from the elicited hierarchical clusters are given in a series of displays from Figure 2 to Figure 3
The main conclusion is that the overarching trending theme is the use of the satellite imagery-based habitat mapping, classification, analysis, interpretation, and modelling of habitats vital for the conservation of marine biodiversity—coral reefs, mangrove forests, and sea-grass meadows
Summary
From the Eurasian mega-continent to the tiniest islet, every landmass on planet Earth is fringed by coastal zones of varying widths. It comprises a series of coastal and nearshore habitats, and regardless of the enormous physical and environmental diversity of the adjacent terrestrial habitats and ecosystems, the coastal zone itself, in many instances, displays remarkable parallelisms across different physical structures and climatic zones [1]. The geological, physical, chemical, and biological makeup of coastal and nearshore habitats is complex [2]. Due to this complexity, ecological specificity, and high spatiotemporal variability, coastal zones harbor some of the most endangered ecosystems on Earth [3]
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