USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Landscape Analysis

Landscape Analysis

Wetland environments and processes span multiple temporal and spatial scales. Consequently, analyses of these environments and processes also need to be conducted at multiple scales. USGS scientists conduct research studies using remotely sensed data collected from both airborne and satellite platforms to characterize wetland environments and processes at local and regional scales.

Research and monitoring activities commonly include wetland change analyses, land use/land cover classification, and vegetation monitoring. Studies of wetland change are of vital importance for documenting and understanding the occurrence and rates of wetland loss. Coastal Louisiana wetlands contain approximately 37 percent of the estuarine herbaceous marshes in the conterminous United States. Trend analyses show that these wetlands are disappearing at a rate of more than a football field an hour on average. USGS scientists are continually monitoring wetland change to provide an improved scientific basis for management decisions.

Research

Continual Monitoring and Investigation of Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana (Brady Couvillion, Michelle Fischer)
Development of Bathymetry/topography Composite for the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Brady Couvillion)
Investigation of Causal Mechanisms of Wetland Loss in Coastal Louisiana (Brady Couvillion)
Development of a Probability of Wetland Loss Index (Brady Couvillion)
Development of Land Use/Land Cover Data with Increased Temporal and Thematic Resolution for the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Brady Couvillion)

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