Allen, Y. 2016. Landscape Scale Assessment of Floodplain Inundation Frequency Using Landsat Imagery. River Research and Applications 32:1609–1620.
Summary
In large river ecosystems, the timing, extent, duration and frequency of floodplain inundation greatly affect the quality of fish and wildlife habitat and the supply of important ecosystem goods and services. Seasonal high flows provide connectivity from the river to the floodplain, and seasonal inundation of the floodplain governs ecosystem structure and function. River regulation and other forms of hydrologic alteration have altered the connectivity of many rivers with their adjacent floodplain – impacting the function of wetlands on the floodplain and in turn, impacting the mainstem river function. Conservation and management of remaining floodplain resources can be improved through a better understanding of the spatial extent and [...]
Summary
In large river ecosystems, the timing, extent, duration and frequency of floodplain inundation greatly affect the quality of fish and wildlife habitat and the supply of important ecosystem goods and services. Seasonal high flows provide connectivity from the river to the floodplain, and seasonal inundation of the floodplain governs ecosystem structure and function. River regulation and other forms of hydrologic alteration have altered the connectivity of many rivers with their adjacent floodplain – impacting the function of wetlands on the floodplain and in turn, impacting the mainstem river function. Conservation and management of remaining floodplain resources can be improved through a better understanding of the spatial extent and frequency of inundation at scales that are relevant to the species and/or ecological processes of interest. Spatial data products describing dynamic aspects floodplain inundation are, however, not widely available. This study used Landsat imagery to generate multiple observations of inundation extent under varying hydrologic conditions to estimate inundation frequency. These data were composited into a landscape mosaic to depict relative inundation frequency over the entire Southeast US.
The Southeast Inundation Frequency (SEIF) mosaic is a cartographic product is intended to provide a landscape scale comparison of floodplain inundation frequency. Methodology and potential application details are in: Allen, Y. 2016. Landscape Scale Assessment of Floodplain Inundation Frequency Using Landsat Imagery. River Research and Applications 32:1609–1620.
Imagery used to create the mosaic were clear images captured 1984-2022 by Landsat 4-8.
