Clark Labs at Clark University Strengthens Collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society

Clark Labs at Clark University has teamed up with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to provide a research seminar geared specifically for real-world conservation projects. The seminar, entitled “Wildlife Conservation Research Seminar,” will explore various remote sensing techniques and spatial analytical tools for different patterns of environmental degradation in different landscapes. The four landscape areas to be explored are all locations that WCS has been working on with local partners: South American Flamingo Habitat, Western Madagascar, Adirondack State Park, and Mongolian Grassland.

This relationship will contribute to Clark University’s newly launched Liberal Education and Effective Practice [LEEP] initiative. Clark University is committed to helping students make the link between knowledge and action more explicit, thereby preparing them to address the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

This Wildlife Conservation Research Seminar provides invaluable applied research experience. Not only will the students gain an education in GIS, remote sensing and conservation practices, they will also be provided with a skillset for the real world, including project management, professional presentations and networking.

The use of remote sensing for conservation purposes is on the rise. Clark Labs’ IDRISI Selva software will be utilized for these projects. Students will explore the analytical potential of both the Earth Trends Modeler and Land Change Modeler applications integrated within IDRISI. The Land Change Modeler was purpose-built for land change and its impacts on conservation and biodiversity, while the Earth Trends Modeler facilitates the analysis of changes over time in image time series.

Students will work in small groups on collaborative conservation projects for four distinct regions: Madagascar, South America, New York State and Mongolia. Each of these projects has specific conservation challenges. Specifically, the students will study general landscape dynamics including land cover change, interannual variations in productivity, soil erosion, coastal sedimentation, and localized habitat changes.

Clark Labs and the Wildlife Conservation Society have had a long-standing relationship and have collaborated on several projects. This new endeavor will expose Clark University students to the real challenges that conservation organizations such as WCS manage and monitor on a daily basis.

Clark Labs is based within the world-renowned Graduate School of Geography at Clark University and is the developer of the IDRISI Selva geospatial software for monitoring and modeling the Earth system.

Clark Labs Releases New Video Demonstrating REDD Deforestation Modeling with Land Change Modeler

Worcester, MA - Clark Labs of Clark University is pleased to announce that a new video has been added to the video series on its website.

This latest video, entitled REDD Deforestation Modeling with Land Change Modeler in IDRISI, introduces the new REDD modeling feature tool included in the latest release of IDRISI, the Selva Edition. This video demonstrates how to model baseline land cover change and to predict future “with project” scenarios, as well as how these scenarios will impact projected GHG emissions through the implementation of a REDD project.

A REDD project proposal, or the Project Design Document submitted to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Organization, requires maps and statistics of GHG emissions, based on various scenarios and standards. The new REDD analysis tool within Land Change Modeler facilitates the creation of these VCS outputs at the specified reporting intervals.
This video, utilizing Madagascar data from Conservation International, highlights how to model land use change from forest to non-forest and create baseline prediction maps based on business-as-usual scenarios and calculate the amount of potential GHG emissions from such predicted forest loss. The Land Change Modeler software also allows you to quantify reductions in GHG emissions in both the project and leakage areas if a REDD project were to be implemented.
This video is one of several videos directly related to the widely-used Land Change Modeler application. IDRISI’s Land Change Modeler is becoming the de facto modeling software for developing REDD projects. This particular video follows on from the REDD Baseline Modeling video. It is recommended that you watch the other videos as well to gain a better appreciation of the complexities involved in modeling land use change.
Other videos on the Land Change Modeler application within the Resources section of the Clark Labs website, www.clarklabs.org, include:

• Introduction to Land Change Modeler in IDRISI
• Predicting Land Cover Change with Land Change Modeler in IDRISI
• REDD Baseline Modeling with Land Change Modeler in IDRISI

Clark Labs is based within the world-renowned Graduate School of Geography at Clark University and is the developer of the IDRISI Selva geospatial software for monitoring and modeling the Earth system.

For further information, please contact Clark Labs at Clark University, Worcester, MA Tel: 508-793-7526.