POSTER Session 1

The contribution of remote sensing for assessing regional biodiversity in Italian inland waters

Freshwater is one of the most important natural resources on the planet; inland waters provide several vital services as habitat for animals and plant, climate regulation, nutrient recycling, transport and tourism. Biodiversity is a key indicator of freshwater ecosystem health and its understanding is fundamental for preserving these resources. By providing repeat synoptic coverage of ecosystems at multiple scales remote sensing is an important component of freshwater biodiversity studies. Particularly, remote sensing data can be combined with in-situ observations and ecological modeling to infer the state of regional biodiversity. In this study, the contribution of remote sensing to the National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC), one of whose objectives is to monitor regional biodiversity in Italian inland waters, is presented. A first application is focusing on a eutrophic lake (Varese), where Sentinel-2 data from 2019 to 2023 indicate an increase in phytoplankton biomass, with associated harmful algal blooms in the autumn months, most likely due to increasingly hot summers. The impact of global warming on major lakes (e.g. Garda and Trasimeno) is then investigated from the cci_lakes satellite data package. Trends in water color, surface water temperature and lake level are analyzed to understand the potential implications of these variables on lakes biodiversity (e.g. eutrophication processes, changes in thermal regimes). Finally, the use of hyperspectral remote sensing for mapping phytoplankton community composition and functional attributes of aquatic vegetation is presented to demonstrate the potential of this technology for observing some of the essential variables of freshwater biodiversity.

Claudia Giardino, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA) and National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC), Italy, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3937-4988

Marina Amadori, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Mariano Bresciani, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Alice Fabbretto, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Nicola Ghirardi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Anna Joelle Greife, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Luigi Lupo, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Andrea Pellegrino, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Monica Pinardi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

Alessandro Scotti, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente (CNR IREA), Italy

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