Skip to main content
Home / Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, Number 3 / March 2012

Open Access Modeling Riparian Zones Utilizing DEMS and Flood Height Data

Download Article:
Riparian ecotones are unique, diverse networks of vegetation and soils in close proximity to streams, rivers, and lakes. Previous approaches to riparian boundary delineation utilized fixed width buffers, but using a fixed width riparian buffer only takes the watercourse into consideration; it does not consider the surrounding landscape. By hydrologically defining a riparian ecotone to occur at the 50-year flood height and incorporating digital elevation data, the spatial modeling capabilities of ArcMap® GIS are utilized to map riparian zones accurately. This approach better characterizes the watercourse and its associated floodplain. Riparian zones delineated using 10 versus 30 meter DEMs and stream course information from the National Hydrography Dataset differ significantly. Within our study areas, 30 meter DEMs are not adequate to map elevation changes for accurate riparian area delineation. The result is a robust GIS based model in an ArcMap® Toolbox format to delineate a variable-width riparian boundary.

Document Type: Research Article

Publication date: March 1, 2012

More about this publication?
  • The official journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing - the Imaging and Geospatial Information Society (ASPRS). This highly respected publication covers all facets of photogrammetry and remote sensing methods and technologies.

    Founded in 1934, the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is a scientific association serving over 7,000 professional members around the world. Our mission is to advance knowledge and improve understanding of mapping sciences to promote the responsible applications of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and supporting technologies.
  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Submit a Paper
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • Membership Information
  • Information for Advertisers
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Issues prior to 2003
  • Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Share Content

  • Access Key
  • Free content
  • Partial Free content
  • New content
  • Open access content
  • Partial Open access content
  • Subscribed content
  • Partial Subscribed content
  • Free trial content