Abstract
Maintaining Ecological Integrity is globally acknowledged as a strategic goal (e.g. Paris Agreement 2015), yet there is no consensus on a general methodology to assess ecological integrity.
This study proposes an approach to quantify integrity based on a simple and theoretically sound method calculating three holistic indicators: exergy capture, biotic water flows and abiotic heterogeneity, and using open access remote sensing data (Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8). Three respective variables were selected to represent these indicators: NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), brightness Temperature (BT) and vegetation surface heterogeneity (HG).
This method is proposed to identify, assess and quantify the integrity gradient in a regional context of two study areas: PLA Třeboňsko, Czech Republic, and German federal state Schleswig-Holstein. Forests and wetlands perform relative best in terms of the selected integrity indicators, while arable lands and urban areas relative worst.
Ecologically valuable localities can be identified using the presented method in medium/high resolution (10 m). An integrative Regional Index of Ecological Integrity (RIEI [%]) is derived as an estimate of the relative distance between the potential top and bottom performance in a regional context.
The capacity of the tested method to describe ecosystem integrity can be used in nature conservation, ecosystem management as well as setting ecological targets and goals for policymakers.