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Cover Picture and Issue Information
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
methods in ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.425
H-Index - 105
ISSN - 2041-210X
DOI - 10.1111/2041-210x.12276
Subject(s) - terrain , scale (ratio) , cover (algebra) , topographic wetness index , land cover , computer science , index (typography) , variable (mathematics) , environmental science , physical geography , geography , cartography , ecology , digital elevation model , remote sensing , mathematics , land use , world wide web , mechanical engineering , engineering , mathematical analysis , biology
This month’s cover image shows the Terrain Wetness Index (TWI) computed from a very‐high resolution DEM acquired in the Swiss pre‐Alps. TWI is one of the many underused environmental variables (along with the likes of morphometry indices and solar radiation) which can be obtained from DEMs and used as proxies to relevant ecological features. In the associated paper, Leempoel et al. emphasize the usefulness of a large panel of DEM‐derived variables to model micro‐climatic conditions related to topography. Among them, it was found that wetness and ruggedness indices predicted measured ambient humidity and soil moisture, respectively. On the other hand, the authors progressively degraded the spatial resolution of DEMs and found a strong scale dependency in models’ strength. These results support the relevance of using multi‐scale DEM variables to provide surrogates for important climatic variables, offering suitable alternatives to direct measurements at a local scale. Photo credit: © Kevin Leempoel, EPFL.