Combining Spatial–Temporal Remote Sensing and Human Footprint Indices to Identify Biodiversity Conservation Hotspots

Abstract

Considering Inner Mongolia as the study area, the ecological theory of climate change, and human activities affecting a wide range of biodiversity patterns, MODIS multi-timeseries remote sensing image data were used and the interannual variation index was obtained by the method of fitting the curve to obtain the annual phenological and seasonal indicators. At the same time, the Landsat 8 standard deviation image was calculated to obtain the spatial variation index and generate spatial–temporal remote sensing indices to quantify the threat of climate change to biodiversity. In addition, the impact of human activities on biodiversity was quantified by generating a map of the human footprint in Inner Mongolia. The spatial–temporal remote sensing index and the human footprint index were integrated to identify areas protected from climate change and human activities, respectively. Eventually, the hotspot areas of biodiversity conservation in Inner Mongolia were obtained and priority protected area planning was based on the hotspot identification results. In this study, remote sensing technology was used to identify biodiversity conservation hotspots, which can overcome the limitations of insufficient species data from the past, improve the reliability of large-scale biodiversity conservation analyses, and be used for targeted management actions that have practical significance for biodiversity conservation planning.