Trees, Forests, Satellite Imagery
I made a trip to Redwood National and State Parks over the new year weekend and was absolutely overwhelmed. I have never seen anything so ancient or enormous in my life. Everything seemed to be living and breathing within a wild, mystical cloud. Of course, Redwoods are well known for being the tallest trees on Earth, but I also learned that this area of Northern California contains some of the last remaining stands of old growth forests on Earth. This left a dent in my heart. After that trip, I did research on tree planting programs in cities, which drew me to several articles about the use of satellite imagery in helping map biodiversity and habitat loss, and even one research paper about a remote sensing mapping project in Romania that is aimed at identifying old growth forests so they can be protected. The authors, Watson & Evans, wrote: "[M]aintaining and, where possible, restoring the integrity of dwindling intact forests is an urgent priority for current global efforts t...