Monitoring and protecting our ecosystems from space

Using satellites, we can monitor changes and promote the responsible use of land and natural resources to protect our ecosystems. Earth's ecosystems are essential to life as we know it, contributing to some of our most basic needs like water, food and clean air.

Satellites are also useful for understanding and protecting Canadian biodiversity. For example, remote sensing techniques provide important data on wildlife and habitats, and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices can be used to track different species.

Which satellites provide data that can be used to protect and monitor ecosystems?

• RADARSAT Constellation Mission and RADARSAT-2: To facilitate marine surveillance, environmental monitoring, ice monitoring, disaster management, resource management and mapping in Canada and around the world.
• SMOS: To map sea surface salinity, monitor soil moisture on a global scale, better understand the water cycle, and map snow- and ice-covered areas.
• SWOT (in development): To observe ocean surfaces and measure how lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans are changing over time.

Why use satellites to monitor and protect ecosystems?

Monitoring forests

Canada has 347 million hectares of forest land, accounting for 9% of the global forest cover and for 40% of the world's sustainably managed forests, according to Key facts about Canada's forests from Natural Resources Canada. Remote sensing technologies have long been used by Canadian Forest Service (CFS) scientists to gather a variety of forest information as well as map disturbances such as wildfire burn areas and help estimate wood stocks.

Today, the CFS works with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and other partners to develop ways to use satellite and airborne data to map and classify Canada's forests and to monitor their health, structure, biomass and natural disturbances. Images produced with data from Earth observation satellites allow us to see changes that have occurred in a given area, helping to identify harvested areas and to determine major changes in forest density.

Keeping an eye on protected areas and wildlife habitats

Ecosystem monitoring from space helps government agencies, such as Parks Canada, better manage protected areas, plan bird conservation areas and map vital habitats for wildlife species at risk.

Helping monitor Canada's changing environment

As a Resource Management Officer for Parks Canada, Brian Koonoo travels extensively to the northern tundra to compile information about the changing environment. Remaining abreast of weather conditions is a key challenge to working in this potentially hazardous region where temperatures and conditions can quickly change. Koonoo uses RADARSAT data to help identify the dangerous parts of the tundra and permafrost areas and what the best routes might be. RADARSAT data is an increasingly important part of that process, as climate change has made traditional knowledge of the Arctic icescape less reliable. Read Brian's full story.

Classifying and conserving wetlands

Submerged or saturated with water, wetlands cover about 14% of Canada's land area and are characterized by plants adapted to wet soil conditions. There are different types of wetlands, from fresh and salt water marshes to wooded swamps, bogs, peatlands and seasonally flooded forests. Wetlands have many benefits, including absorbing the impact of large waves or floods; filtering residues and toxic elements; supplying food and vital habitat for many species of wildlife; and providing us with sources of food, energy and building materials.

Considered wasteland in the past, many wetlands have been drained or filled in. Recently, however, the government has recognized their value and made efforts to protect them. In order to conserve and carefully use resources available in wetlands, it is necessary to map and classify them. The Canadian Wetland Inventory, established in 2002 by Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the CSA and the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, relies on a combination of satellite imagery and aerial photography.

Peatlands is a unique class of wetlands. They have many valuable functions, such as storing carbon, providing habitat for several wildlife species, lessening the impact of floods and droughts, and collecting and purifying water. Canada holds close to 25% of the world's peatlands. When drained, peatlands turn into net sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In recent years, peatland management and the impact of climate change on them have become a concern. To sustainably manage and conserve peatlands, an up-to-date peatland inventory is necessary, enabling tracking of peatland loss and estimation of GHG emissions.

Mapping Canada's coasts and monitoring them for changes and pollution

Canada has the longest coastline in the world, measuring 243,042 km on three oceans – Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific. The coasts' unique biodiversity and resources contribute to Canada as a whole. Set between the ocean and the land, coastlines are continually changing as a result of climate change, natural processes and human activities.

Mapping the coasts and detecting changes in them is crucial for safe maritime navigation, coastal environmental protection, sustainable resource management, and coastal development and planning. Coastline changes may have a fundamental effect on the environment of the coastal zone. Government agencies, such as ECCC and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), use satellite data to monitor coastal erosion, offshore pollution, urbanization and a resulting loss of natural habitat.

Our satellites at your service

• Wildfire burn scars mapped by satellites
• Can space technology help reduce chronic stress experienced by whales?

Explore further

• Agriculture in the satellite age
• Using satellites to protect and navigate Canada's waters
• Taking action on climate change