IngentaConnect Temporal mapping of riparian landscape change on the Sacramento r...

Authors: Greco S.E.; Plant R.E.

Source: Landscape Research, Volume 28, Number 4, October 2003 , pp. 405-426(22)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

The middle Sacramento River is a low-gradient meandering sector in which vegetation patches are continuously created and destroyed within a complex landscape mosaic. The erosion and subsequent deposition of sediment begins a process of vegetation succession which continues until the meandering action of the river returns its course to that location. The objectives were: (1) to develop a methodology for photo-interpretation of land cover and canopy height using recent aerial photographs; (2) to validate the results of this methodology through field verification; and (3) to apply the methodology to a time sequence of historical aerial photographs to develop land cover maps to measure cumulative (gross) decadal changes. This research was carried out on a 31-km reach (|similar|6700 ha) of the Sacramento River that exhibits dynamic channel meandering behaviour. The results of the study suggest that the riparian landscape mosaic can change structure dramatically over the course of decades. Thus, conservation planning aimed at recovering threatened and endangered species should take these habitat changes into explicit consideration.

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Temporal mapping of riparian landscape change on the Sacramento river, miles 196-218, California, USA