Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Ecological Applications

Publication Date

8-2005

Volume

15

Issue

4

Disciplines

Biology | Life Sciences

Abstract

Fluvial processes of cut and fill alluviation and channel abandonment or avulsion are essential for maintaining the ecological health of floodplain ecosystems characteristic of gravel-bed rivers. These dynamic processes shape the floodplain landscape, resulting in a shifting mosaic of habitats, both above and below ground. We present a new and innovative methodology to quantitatively assess the geomorphic work potential necessary to maintain a shifting habitat mosaic for gravel-bed river floodplains. This approach can be used to delineate critical habitats for preservation through land acquisition and conservation easements, often critical elements of river restoration plans worldwide. Spatially explicit modeling of water depth, flow velocity, shear stress, and stream power derived from surface hydraulic measurements was combined with airborne multispectral remote sensing for detailed modeling of floodplain water surfaces over tens to hundreds of square kilometers. The model results were then combined within a GIS framework to determine potential nodes of channel avulsion that delineate spatially explicit zones across the floodplain where the potential for geomorphic work is the greatest. Results of this study demonstrate the utility of integrating existing multispectral remote sensing data coupled with time-lagged ground-based measures of flow hydraulics to model fluvial processes at relatively fine spatial resolutions but over broad regional extents.

DOI

10.1890/03-5290

Comments

Copyright 2005 by the Ecological Society of America. M. S. Lorang, D. C. Whited, F. R. Hauer, J. S. Kimball, and J. A. Stanford 2005. USING AIRBORNE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY TO EVALUATE GEOMORPHIC WORK ACROSS FLOODPLAINS OF GRAVEL-BED RIVERS. Ecological Applications 15:1209–1222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/03-5290.

Rights

Copyright 2005 by the Ecological Society of America. M. S. Lorang, D. C. Whited, F. R. Hauer, J. S. Kimball, and J. A. Stanford 2005. USING AIRBORNE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY TO EVALUATE GEOMORPHIC WORK ACROSS FLOODPLAINS OF GRAVEL-BED RIVERS. Ecological Applications 15:1209–1222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/03-5290.

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