Esis/Imalys Software Package: A Tool for Quantifying Raster and Vector-Based Landscape Pattern and Traits Indicators from Remote Sensing Data

Abstract

Remote sensing has become an important tool and service for environmental research, especially for landscape analysis. Moreover, the spatial distribution and development of remotely sensed parameters can effectively complement and extend medical, biological, ecological and geographical tasks. However, data acquisition, data analysis and the selection of appropriate methods are still time-consuming. The ESIS (EcoSystem Integrity Service) project aims to establish environmental indicators on a well-defined and reproducible basis. The Imalys software library is designed to produce the indicators specified for ESIS as raster- and vector products from remote sensing data. These include various indicators of landscape diversity, boundaries, density of landscape elements and structures, and basic land cover types. All processes are sensor independent, scale invariant and applicable worldwide.