Satellite-Based Indicators of Watershed Change for Ecosystem Management

Year 2008
Organization Borstad Associates Ltd
Project type Habitat
Project type Fisheries
FSWP funding source Living Rivers
Grant amount $25,000
Total project value $34,000
ID number

08 SIFM LR86

Location: Habitat, Fisheries

Project Summary

While current opinion holds that marine survival is the most important variable determining the abundance of most wild salmon, there is evidence that the decline of coho in the Thomson watershed for example, can be attributed at least in part to freshwater habitat alteration.  There has been the suggestion that in some species, up to half of the variability might come from the freshwater life phase.  Also, there is reason to expect reduced peak and summer river-flows and changes in timing of peak flows and increased stream temperatures as the climate changes - all parameters that can be expected to be related to variations in seasonal vegetation cover measurable from satellites. 

Borstad Associates Ltd. will produce a series of high-level ecosystem indicators of the biophysical condition of watersheds important to wild salmon, using a satellite-derived measurements of green vegetation.  We will use satellite data to map and monitor changes in major salmon watersheds of the Fraser Basin during the 22-year period from 1985 to 2006.  The satellite dataset is a massive 5 Terrabyte database of daily, 1km resolution weather satellite data composited to 10-day periods to reduce the data volume and the effect of clouds, but retaining the 1km resolution.  A more or less continuous record of more than 500 vegetation cover measurements are therefore available for every imaged 1km pixel in the 22-year period.  Each time series can be expected to provide parameters such as the rate and timing of green-up in the spring, the annual maximum plant cover, and losses due to droughts, fires, insects and logging, all of which are related to water quality and stream flow important to salmon.

In cooperation with Dr. Jim Irvine (DFO) and Scott Akenhead of S4S Advisors Inc. we will examine the linkages between the satellite derived indicators with metrics of salmon production and survival in freshwater in selected watersheds of the Fraser Basin.

The deliverables will include:
· GIS maps in ArcView format of selected indicators of change of vegetative cover for selected areas of the Fraser Basin showing the spatial distribution of change on a 1-km resolution. 
· Time series plots of Vegetative Cover and derived indicators such as rates of change summarized for selected conservation units at 10 day intervals over a 22 year time period between 1985 and 2006

The historical dataset to be assembled will provide high-level indicators of watershed health that could eventually be used in regular monitoring across very large areas.  If successful indicators can be found, they could provide for inexpensive monitoring and assessment of habitat status of freshwater systems. 



Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Comment:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Comments

Be the first to leave a comment on this page!