| Title | Modelling, characterizing, and monitoring Boreal Forest Wetland Bird Habitat with RADARSAT-2 and Landsat-8 Data |
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| Author | DeLancey, E R ;
Brisco, B; McLeod, L J T; Hedley, R; Bayne, E M; Murnaghan, K; Gregory, F; Kariyeva, J |
| Source | Water vol. 13, issue 17, 2021 p. 1-13, https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172327  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2021 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20210641 |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | geophysics; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; satellites; satellite imagery; modelling; vegetation; wetlands; RADARSAT-2; Landsat-8; Forestry; Birds; Habitats |
| Illustrations | satellite images; graphs; plots |
| Released | 2021 08 25 |
| Abstract | Earth observation technologies have strong potential to help map and monitor wildlife habitats. Yellow Rail, a rare wetland obligate bird species, is a species of concern in Canada and provides an
interesting case study for monitoring wetland habitat with Earth observation data. Yellow Rail has highly specific habitat requirements characterized by shallowly flooded graminoid vegetation, the availability of which varies seasonally and
year-to-year. Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in combination with optical data should, in theory, be a great resource for mapping and monitoring these habitats. This study evaluates the use of RADARSAT-2 data and Landsat-8 data to
characterize, map, and monitor Yellow Rail habitat in a wetland area within the mineable oil sands region. Specifically, we investigate: (1) The relative importance of polarimetric SAR and Landsat-8 data for predicting Yellow Rail habitat; (2)
characterization of wetland habitat with polarimetric SAR data; (3) yearly trends in available habitat; and (4) predictions of potentially suitable habitat across northeastern Alberta. Results show that polarimetric SAR using the Freeman-Durden
decomposition and polarization ratios were the most important predictors when modeling the Yellow Rail habitat. These parameters also effectively characterize this habitat based on high congruence with existing descriptions of suitable habitat.
Applying the prediction model across all wetland areas showed accurate predictions of occurrence (validated on field occurrence data), and high probability habitats were constrained to very specific wetland areas. Using the RADARSAT-2 data to monitor
yearly changes to Yellow Rail habitat was inconclusive, likely due to the different image acquisition times of the 2014 and 2016 images, which may have captured seasonal, rather than inter-annual, wetland dynamics. Polarimetric SAR has proved to be
very useful for capturing the specific hydrology and vegetation structure of the Yellow Rail habitat, which could be a powerful technology for monitoring and conserving wetland species habitat. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Earth observation technologies have strong potential to help map and monitor wildlife habitats. Yellow Rail, a rare wetland bird species, is a species of
concern in Canada and provides an interesting case study for monitoring wetland habitat with Earth observation data. Yellow Rail has specific habitat requirements characterized by shallowly flooded vegetation, the availability of which varies
seasonally and year-to-year. Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in combination with optical data is a great resource for mapping and monitoring these habitats. This study evaluates the use of RADARSAT-2 data and Landsat-8 data to
characterize, map, and monitor Yellow Rail habitat in a wetland area within the mineable oil sands region of Alberta. Specifically, we investigate: (1) The relative importance of polarimetric SAR and Landsat-8 data for predicting Yellow Rail habitat;
(2) characterization of wetland habitat with polarimetric SAR data; (3) yearly trends in available habitat; and (4) predictions of potentially suitable habitat across northeastern Alberta. Results show that polarimetric SAR using the Freeman-Durden
decomposition and polarization ratios were the most important predictors when modeling the Yellow Rail habitat. These parameters also effectively characterize this habitat based on high congruence with existing descriptions of suitable habitat.
Applying the prediction model across all wetland areas showed accurate predictions of occurrence (validated on field occurrence data), and high probability habitats were constrained to very specific wetland areas. Using the RADARSAT-2 data to monitor
yearly changes to Yellow Rail habitat was inconclusive, likely due to the different image acquisition times of the 2014 and 2016 images, which may have captured seasonal, rather than inter-annual, wetland dynamics. Polarimetric SAR has proved to be
very useful for capturing the specific hydrology and vegetation structure of the Yellow Rail habitat, which could be a powerful technology for monitoring and conserving wetland species habitat. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 329592 |
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