Habitat Level Mapping of Coral Reefs at Different Scales: Case Study on Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Abstract

Tropical coral reefs represent a major coastal or marine wetland type. This chapter highlights the global distribution of tropical coral reefs, their ecosystem services and major threats. The concept of coral reef habitat mapping has been discussed in detail. Coral reef habitat mapping at different scales have been described with respect to space-based inputs like aerial photographs and satellite imageries available at different resolutions. Major global and regional scale reef mapping projects using aerial photographs and multispectral satellite imageries have been discussed here. The chapter also highlights different habitat mapping methods based on different image processing techniques. Habitat mapping of Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a subset of Indian Ocean reefs with Indian Remote Sensing data and its current constraints have been illustrated as a case. Future directions of this field have also been mentioned in brief.