TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Nebraska playa wetland inundation status during 1985–2015 using Landsat data and Google Earth Engine
AU - Tang, Zhenghong
AU - Li, Yao
AU - Gu, Yue
AU - Jiang, Weiguo
AU - Xue, Yuan
AU - Hu, Qiao
AU - LaGrange, Ted
AU - Bishop, Andy
AU - Drahota, Jeff
AU - Li, Ruopu
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper has been funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under assistance agreements (CD97746701). The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the funding agencies, and do not mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The research team sincerely appreciated the great support from the Rainwater Bain Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Playa wetlands in Nebraska provide globally important habitats for migratory waterfowl. Inundation condition is an important indicator of playa wetland functionality. However, there is a lack of long-term continuous monitoring records for playa wetlands. The objective of this study was to determine a suitable index for Landsat images to map the playa inundation status in March and April during 1985–2015. Four types of spectral indices—negative normalized vegetation index, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), modified NDWI, and Tasseled Cap Wetness-Greenness Difference (TCWGD)—were evaluated to detect playa inundation conditions from Landsat images. The results indicate that the TCWGD is the most suitable index for distinguishing playa inundation status. By using Landsat images and Google Earth Engine, we mapped the spring inundation condition of Nebraska playas during 1985–2015. The results show that the total inundated areas were 176.79 km2 in spring migratory season, representing 18.92% of the total area of playa wetlands. There were 9898 wetlands inundated at least once in either March or April during the past 30 years, representing 29.41% of a total of 33,659 historical wetlands. After comparing the historical hydric soil footprints and the inundated areas, the results indicate that the hydrological conditions of the majority of playas in Nebraska have changed. The inundated wetlands are candidates for protection and/or partial restoration, and the un-inundated wetlands need more attention for wetland restoration. Wetlands in areas enrolled in conservation easements had a significantly high level of playa inundation status than non-conserved wetlands during spring migratory seasons in the past decades.These conservation easements only count for 4.29% of the total footprint areas, but they have contributed 20.82% of the inundation areas in Nebraska during the past 30 years.
AB - Playa wetlands in Nebraska provide globally important habitats for migratory waterfowl. Inundation condition is an important indicator of playa wetland functionality. However, there is a lack of long-term continuous monitoring records for playa wetlands. The objective of this study was to determine a suitable index for Landsat images to map the playa inundation status in March and April during 1985–2015. Four types of spectral indices—negative normalized vegetation index, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), modified NDWI, and Tasseled Cap Wetness-Greenness Difference (TCWGD)—were evaluated to detect playa inundation conditions from Landsat images. The results indicate that the TCWGD is the most suitable index for distinguishing playa inundation status. By using Landsat images and Google Earth Engine, we mapped the spring inundation condition of Nebraska playas during 1985–2015. The results show that the total inundated areas were 176.79 km2 in spring migratory season, representing 18.92% of the total area of playa wetlands. There were 9898 wetlands inundated at least once in either March or April during the past 30 years, representing 29.41% of a total of 33,659 historical wetlands. After comparing the historical hydric soil footprints and the inundated areas, the results indicate that the hydrological conditions of the majority of playas in Nebraska have changed. The inundated wetlands are candidates for protection and/or partial restoration, and the un-inundated wetlands need more attention for wetland restoration. Wetlands in areas enrolled in conservation easements had a significantly high level of playa inundation status than non-conserved wetlands during spring migratory seasons in the past decades.These conservation easements only count for 4.29% of the total footprint areas, but they have contributed 20.82% of the inundation areas in Nebraska during the past 30 years.
KW - Inundation
KW - Nebraska
KW - Rainwater Basin
KW - Tasseled Cap Wetness-Greenness Difference
KW - Wetland
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U2 - 10.1007/s10661-016-5664-x
DO - 10.1007/s10661-016-5664-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 27826819
AN - SCOPUS:84994728101
VL - 188
JO - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
JF - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
SN - 0167-6369
IS - 12
M1 - 654
ER -