Bill Buckley

Geographic Information Systems and Science

Final Project Geo 565

GIS and Estuary Restoration

Blaschke T., S. land, G.J. Hay, ed. Object-Based Image Analysis: Spatial Concepts for Knowledge-Driven Remote Sensing Applications. Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, 2008.

In the chapter titled “Multi-Scale functional Mapping of Tidal Marsh Vegetation Using Object-Based Image Analysis”, with the use of color infrared aerial photography, the authors preform an object based image analysis to map wetland functions at multiple scales. Monitoring restoration can inform the restoration process and help land managers how the restoration project is evolving, which can effect positive change in future restoration efforts. Mapping is an essential part of the monitoring process, including the use of remote sensed imagery and GIS technology. Advances in GIScience have led to the new emerging field of Object-Based Image Analysis which has advanced feature recognition and image analysis (using multi-sensor and multi-resolution data) to facilitate thematic information for policy and management support.

Caeiro, S., I. Mour˜ao, M. H. Costa, M. Painho, T. B. Ramos, and S. Sousa. 2004. Application of

the DPSIR model to the Sado Estuary in a GIS context–Social and economical pressures. in

Proceedings of 7th Conference on Geographic Information Science, April 29–May 1, Crete,

Greece, ed. F. Toppen and P. Prastacos, 391–402. Agile: Crete University Press.

This research assesses the application of the DPSIR (Driving Forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) indicators within the Sado Estuary, in Portugal. The use of this causality chain model selects indicators which link environmental information using different categories, is found to be an excellent way of representing the environmental components without physically measuring too many parameters. Key pressure indicators are mapped in a GIS to visualize complex information, which has the advantage of allowing spatial visualization, computation, and integration of the various indicators. There is some confusion using this type of model in that some variable can be found in different components and end up being weighed multiple times. The authors found that due to diverse pressures a strong environmental impact is expected in the Sado Estuary, particularly near industrial sources.

Dean T., Z. Ferdaña, J. White, C. Tanner. 2000. Skagit estuary restoration assessment, identifying and prioritizing areas for habitat restoration in Puget Sound’s largest rural estuary. Report by People for Puget Sound and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A GIS tool was developed in order to identify and prioritize conservation and restoration targets throughout the Puget Sound. They used variables such as tidal range and seasonality, hydrologic codes, ecologic, and land use criteria, as well as development density. The study had two goals 1. Identify the extent of habitat loss within the study estuary (Skagit River). 2. Identify and prioritize restoration efforts (based on landscape ecology and ease of restoration). The four criteria they used were: landscape ecology, connectivity to hydrology, tidal flooding, and ecological sustainability. All of the data were converted to grid coverage with a quarter acre cell size to run their analysis in ArcView.

Evans N.R., G.D. Williams, R.M. Thom, and A.B. Borde. 2005. Prioritizing Restoration Sites in the Columbia River Estuary. ESRI International User Conference 2005.

The Columbia River Estuary system has seen increased interest in restoration and conservation efforts. In order to facilitate meaningful management prioritization of current condition in each study area is necessary. This assessment is GIS based and uses pre-existing datasets whenever possible, and is used to assess existing ecological impairments at a local site scale based on habitat classes. These data are put through a scoring matrix to determine ecosystem management options for the study area. This process allows land managers and scientists to systematically grade the condition of each site, put the site in context of the greater ecosystem, prioritize management actions base on level of disturbance and probable outcome, and assess possible alternatives.

Everitt J.H., C. Yang, M.A. Alaniz, M.R. Davis, F.L. Nibling, and C.J. Deloach. 2004. Canopy spectra of giant reed and associated vegetation. Journal of Range Management 57: 561-569.

This study examined the usefulness of remotely sensed data on mapping the extent of Arundo donax infestation in Southern Texas riparian habitat by establishing its canopy light reflectance characteristics and those of associated vegetation. Reflectance measurements, from five dates, were made on ten randomly selected clumps using a Barnes modular multispectral radiometer in the green, red, and near infared (NIR) spectrums, and overhead vertical photographs were taken at the time of measurements. These finding indicate that A. donax has higher NIR reflectance than associated plant communities in summer and fall and that aerial photography and videography can be used to distinguish infestations of this invasive species. This method was integrated with GPS and GIS technologies along the Rio Grande and was found to be a valuable and cost effective tool in riparian habitat restoration planning and implementation.

Hilbert K.W. 2006. Land cover change within the Grand Bay national Estuarine Research Reserve: 1974-2001. Journal of Coastal Research Vol. 22, No. 6, PP. 1552-1775.

This study documents the land cover change within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) occurring between the years 1974 and 2001. Landsat imagery was acquired for the years 1974, 1991, and 2001 and land cover classes were classified from the imagery, as well as overall land cover change. The researchers found that a majority of land cover change occurred due to loss of terrestrial wetland to open water, which was attributed to sea level rise, land subsidence, change in landscape geomorphology and resulted in increased wave action and erosion. They also found that more detailed mapping efforts would be necessary in order to address more specific issues.

Joshi, C., de Leeuw, J., and van Duren I.C. 2004. Remote sensing and GIS applications for mapping and spatial modeling of invasive species. In: ISPRS 2004: Proceedings of the XXth ISPRS Congress: Geo-imagery bridging continents, 12-23 July 2004, Istanbul, Turkey. Comm. VII, pp 669-677.

This paper reviews the applicable uses of GIS and Remote Sensing in mapping the extent of biological invasion by non-native species and comparing it to the actual extent of invasion. At the point that this publication was written remote sensing has focused on mapping the extent of canopy dominated invasion, however the majority of invasive species are not prone to canopy domination. This paper addresses issues related to mapping techniques and potential distribution of invasion, which sensors and classification techniques have been used, success in mapping canopy vs. non-canopy dominated species, and techniques that are available but have not been used to date. The authors found that canopy dominated species receive attention, whereas most of the invasive species are not canopy dominated and that remote sensing and GIS experts should focus attention on these species as they are prone to total domination of ecosystems.

Partyka M.L. and M.S. Peterson. Habitat quality and salt-marsh species assemblages along an anthropogenic estuarine landscape. 2008. Journal of Coastal Research 24: 1570-1581.

Habitat conditions were evaluated, and classified as severely altered intermediately altered or natural conditions, and water and habitat quality were assessed across a shoreline development gradient in a Mississippi estuary to determine whether surrounding alteration was influencing habitat characteristics and biotic activity. Shoreline type was found using Quickbird imagery, then put into a GIS where, with the nearest neighbor function, the patchiness of each shore type was calculated. The authors found that the existence of marsh habitat was not enough, but to ensure a high level of ecosystem health depends on the spatial arrangement of the surrounding landscape and the marsh’s presence within it.

Paul W. Geographical Signatures of Middle Atlantic Estuaries: Historical Layers. 2001. Estuaries Vol. 24, No. 2, p. 151–166.

This researcher uses a GIS layered approach to describing the geomorphology of the Chesapeake Bay. The model examines the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the estuary through space and time, and examines anthropogenic impacts on the Chesapeake Bay. The model takes into account spatial and temporal elements within the system, which include beneficial actions such as restoration, mitigation, and remediation of habitat losses by all management entities involved. The results found that efforts have made progress toward contaminant and nutrient introduction, but conservation efforts have to be re-doubled to make a greater impact on the ecosystem.

Tong S.T.Y. 2001. An integrated exploratory approach to examining the relationships of environmental stressors and fish responses. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery 9: 1–19.

This study used GIS statistical tools to qualify environmental degradation in the Chesapeake Bay and categorize the intricate relations between many environmental factors. ArcGIS was used to analyze a massive dataset of environmental factors. The data was run through a multivariate ordination technique to define specific criteria and generate hypothesis about environmental relationships involved. They found that the most important environmental stressors affecting the health and structure of fish composition can be revealed from the results the non-metric multi-dimensional scaling ordination, GIS and analysis of the statistics. This study helped to quantify the effects of land use on nitrate levels, and the methods can be used on a wide range of ecosystems by manipulating the variables involved.

Van Dyke E. and K. Wasson. 2005. Historical Ecology of a Central California Estuary: 150 Years of Habitat Change. Estuaries Vol. 28, No. 2, p. 173–189.

The historic ecology of the Elkhorn Slough, Watsonville, California, was investigated to assess the extent of change and distribution of wetland habitat during a 150 year period in order to aid land managers in setting conservation and restoration actions and goals. GIS was used to create a series of summary maps to quantify changes in habitat types from six historical periods, with the use of historic air photos, maps, and charts. Documentation of hydrologic change due to anthropogenic modification found major shifts in habitat type and loss of habitat all together due to diking and the construction of an artificial mouth. Recent changes have let to levee breaches, effectively restoring the majority of the historic inundated region, which is in a state of rapid change and is not expected to reach equilibrium quickly.

Wilson B., J. Madsen, D. Siok, M. Rhode. 2010. Like finding a grain of sand in a bucket of mud; locating sand resources in the Delaware Estuary. Geological Society of America, March 2010, vol. 42, Issue 1, pp.152.

In order to locate potential sand resources for beach replenishment and coastal restoration a benthic and sub-bottom imaging project was conducted in the Delaware Bay and River. The goal was to identify and map the benthic and sub-bottom habitat of the Bay and River, in order to locate potential sand reserves. Remote acoustics were used to gather data, which was then integrated into a 3D GIS database. The 3D GIS allowed researchers to identify islands and deposits of sand, which were based on desired sediment grain size characteristics and volume of deposits. Once the deposits were found to be adequate, areas were then delineated in order to minimize the effects on fish habitat.

Wright D.J., A.J. Scholz, ed. Place Matters, Geospatial Tools for Marine Science, Conservation and Management in the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2005.

Chapter eleven of this book is entitled “Rapid Shoreline Inventory, A Citizen-Based Approach to Identifying and Prioritizing Marine Shoreline Conservation and Restoration Projects”. Rapid Shoreline Inventory (RSI) methods are used by highly trained volunteers on Puget Sound shorelines in order to gather cohesive, spatially detailed, data sets on resources found, and shoreline health, which is then put into a GIS database. These data are then run through a series of models to identify site specific indices to describe ecosystem restoration and conservation opportunities. The “scores” produced allow land managers to see spatial relationships and grouping of high priority sites. The models are designed to assess sites for their current condition and future potential condition, should they be restored, and once the analysis are complete conservation and restoration targets are displayed on GIS maps overlaid with topographic or ortho-rectified photography, and other useful data layers.

Zharikov Y., G.A. Skilleter, N.R. Loneragan, T. Taranto, B.E. Cameron. 2005. Mapping and characterizing subtropical estuarine landscapes using aerial photography and GIS for potential application in wildlife conservation and management. Biological Conservation 125: 87-100.

The researchers illustrate the importance and application of high resolution mapping using aerial photography and ancillary GIS by developing a classification scheme representing 24 coastal cover types relevant to estuarine habitat and ecology in a subtropical estuarine system in Queensland, Australia. The researchers aimed to develop a reliable and accurate thematic mapping technique and classification scheme for estuarine systems. The resulting information was processed and mapped using ArcGIS 8.3. General cover type was mapped accurately between 77-88% of the time, and over 50% of the misclassification occurred between cover types where the edges were fuzzy.

"State of Oregon: Oregon Coastal Management Program." Oregon.gov Home Page. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. <http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/OCMP/>.

The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) works in partnership with government entities and other stakeholders to ensure that Oregon’s ocean and coastal resources are managed in such a way to be consistent with statewide planning goals. They implement their mission to conserve and protect Oregon’s coastal resources through a series partnerships, financial and planning assistance, and technological aid. One of the technological resources that the OCMP maintains is the Oregon Coastal Atlas. The Oregon Coastal Atlas is a metadata portal for information, digital and traditional, useful for decision making processes relating to management of Oregon’s coastal zone. They provide geospatial analysis tools, access to data sets relating to coastal zone management, background information for coastal systems, and access to interactive mapping.