The cat in the Schroedinger box: uncertainty related to the perception of species diversity by remote sensing

The Schroedinger's cat can be viewed as an example of the uncertainty related to the detection of physical (natural) phenomena. It is impossible to measure with precision all the facets of a complex phenomenon, because the act of measuring itself has an effect on the perception of such a phenomenon. The perception of species diversity by remote sensing is a typical case in which uncertainty can play an important role. The relationship between species diversity and environmental heterogeneity has been a long-lasting interest among ecologists. In fact, environmental heterogeneity is considered to be one of the main factors associated with biodiversity given that areas with higher environmental heterogeneity can host more species due to their higher number of available niches. However, modelling approaches must take explicitly uncertainty into account to be reliable. This talk aims at: i) summarizing the work done on species diversity study by remote sensing and at ii) proposing new analysis approaches to incorporate uncertainty in the throughput of species diversity forecasting by remote sensing.