"Satellite vs. UAVs Remote Sensing of Arid Ecosystems: A Review with in an Ecological Perspective"

Abstract

Arid rangelands in most countries are currently managed without any clear information of long-term trends of the ecological processes and desertification. Remotely sensed imagery is widely used to detect changes in the vegetation cover in arid ecosystems. However, vegetation of arid lands is a challenge due to the spectral, floral, and topographical characteristics of the landscape. This paper focuses on reviewing the main challenges and limitations of RS satellite imageries in the field of ecology in arid ecosystems, and whether UAVs can resolve such limitations.