Machine-Learning Functional Zonation Approach for Characterizing Terrestrial–Aquatic Interfaces: Application to Lake Erie
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Article de revue
Este ítem está publicado en
Remote Sensing. 2022-07-08, vol. 14, n° 14
Resumen en inglés
Ecosystems at coastal terrestrial–aquatic interfaces play a significant role in global biogeochemical cycles. In this study, we aimed to characterize coastal wetlands with particular focus on the co-variability between ...Leer más >
Ecosystems at coastal terrestrial–aquatic interfaces play a significant role in global biogeochemical cycles. In this study, we aimed to characterize coastal wetlands with particular focus on the co-variability between plant dynamics, topography, soil, and other environmental factors. We proposed a functional zonation approach based on machine learning clustering to identify the spatial regions, i.e., zones that capture these co-varied properties. This approach was applied to publicly available datasets along Lake Erie, in the Great Lakes Region. We investigated the heterogeneity of coastal ecosystem structures as a function of along-shore distance and transverse distance, based on the spatial data layers, including topography, wetland vegetation cover, and the time series of Landsat’s enhanced vegetation index (EVI) between 1990 and 2020. Results showed that the topographic metrics (elevation and slope), soil texture, and plant productivity influence the spatial distribution of wetland land-covers (emergent and phragmites). These results highlight a natural organization along the transverse axis, where the elevation and the EVI increase further away from the coastline. In addition, the clustering analysis allowed us to identify regions with distinct environmental characteristics, as well as the ones that are more sensitive to interannual lake-level variations.< Leer menos
Palabras clave en inglés
machine learning
functional zonation
remote sensing
coastal wetlands
plant productivity
Great Lakes Region
Centros de investigación