Habitat change at Helgoland
Intense mapping studies with a focus on the rocky shore system of Helgoland have been performed and are still ongoing in order to define a baseline to recognize biodiversity and habitat change and to follow their development. Traditional ground based methods are able to identify details in species composition, distribution and change while parallel airborne remote sensing campaigns help to gain a synoptical overview of biotopes or habitats and their change.
Percentage cover estimation with a 50 x 50 cm quadrat frame in a sand-covered Porphyra-Ulva (Enteromorpha) biotope. Picture: I. Bartsch
Figure: Classification of hyperspectral scenes of the northern intertidal rocky shore at the island of Helgoland (North Sea) acquired through two airborne remote sensing campaigns. A: July 2002, B: September 2003. The drastic seasonal change of spectral classes representing biological communities becomes synoptically visible.