Improved mapping of coastal salt marsh habitat change at Barnegat Bay (NJ, USA) using object-based image analysis of high-resolution aerial imagery.

ABSTRACT: Tidal wetlands are valued for the ecosystem services they provide yet are vulnerable to loss due to anthropogenic disturbances such as land conversion, hydrologic modifications, and the impacts of climate change, especially accelerating rates of sea level rise. To effectively manage tidal wetlands in face of multiple stressors, accurate studies of wetland extent and trends based on high-resolution imagery are needed. We provide salt marsh delineations for Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, by means of object-based image analysis of high-resolution aerial imagery and digital elevation models. We performed trends analyses of salt marsh extent from 1995 to 2015 and estimated drivers of marsh area change. We found that in 1995, 8830 ± 390 ha were covered with marsh vegetation, while in 2015 only 8180 ±

SUBMITTER: Krause JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10208303 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature