Congress Special Issue and Topic

Message from the Guest Editors

Geographic information systems are digital systems for assessing spatial variation, which have been combined with the evolution of new technologies for data collection — UAV drones, digital cameras, satellite data, sensors, etc. — and transmitted through IoT (Internet of Things) technologies, and their increasing use through the internet. GIS and advanced earth observation methodologies are paving the way towards a better understanding of ecological and environmental interactions, identifying early indicators of environmental degradation and improving our capacity for risk assessment, timely forecasts and responses.

This Special Issue will summarize the contemporary progress and achievements in geomatics, highlight the recent advancements, and present applications in a wide spectrum of topics related to GIS and geospatial analysis in agriculture and environment. It has been coordinated with the 4ᵗʰ Congress of Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis in Agriculture and Environment, and it includes selected papers from this conference, but also welcomes other papers.

Message from the Topic Editors

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays the evolution of new technologies for spatial data collection -UAV-drones, digital cameras, satellite data, sensors and more-, their transmission through IoT technologies (Internet of Things), their emergence via internet, and their analysis through GIS provide enhanced capabilities and significant impetus for solving and confronting contemporary issues faced by Agriculture, as well as by Environmental sustainability. New innovative sensors carried on earth observation instruments, tractors and field measuring devices are constantly collecting high resolution, multitemporal and multispectral data, which are supplement and integrate the data collected with more traditional approaches. GIS and other geospatial technologies shape this data into information that is accessible and interpretable by farmers and land managers to make efficient and informed decisions. At the same time, geospatial analyses of the human impact on the environment is crucial for a better understanding of the underlying relationships and processes. Advanced Earth Observation technologies and Geoinformatics are paving the way towards a better understanding of ecological and environmental interactions, identifying early indicators of environmental degradation and improving our capacity for risk assessment, timely forecast and response. Every single year brings much progress in Remote Sensing, GIS, and spatial analysis methodologies and technologies in agriculture and environment.

This topic will summarize the contemporary progress and achievements of Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, highlight the recent advancements, and present applications in a wide spectrum of topics related to Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics in agriculture and environment. It is coordinated with the 4ᵗʰ Congress of Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis in Agriculture and Environment, and it includes selected papers from this conference but also welcomes other papers that align with its topics:

Specifically, the Topic is focusing on, but not limited to earth observation, GIS, and spatial analysis applications such as Satellite Data, Geoinformatics & Geospatial Technologies, Web-GIS, GNSS and GPS, IoT, Land Information Systems, Spatial exploratory data analysis, Spatial Statistical Models, Spatial Interpolation, Geostatistics, Neural Networks and AI, Use of Cloud Service’s for the Management of Spatial Data of Large Volume, in the following topics:

• Land Suitability Classification
• Soil Resources Protection, Land Assessment, and Land Use Planning
• Water Resources Analysis, Planning, and Management
• Ecosystem Protection, Restoration and Management
• Forests Evaluation and Management
• Natural Hazards, Geohazards
• Natural Disasters (Floods, Droughts, Fires, Landslides etc.)
• Spatial Digital Management of Farms & Agricultural Holdings
• Precision Agriculture, Smart Farming, and Data Collection via Spatial Digital Technologies
• Agricultural Production and of Agricultural Ecosystems Monitoring
• Crop Protection, Pest and Diseases Management
• Weeds
• Invasive Species
• Soil nutrients and fertility management
• Sustainable Fishery through the contemporary geospatial technologies’ application
• Livestock and Pastures Management