USING SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR TO DEFINE LAND COVER AND SEASONAL INUNDATION PATTERNS IN THE BRAZILIAN PANTANAL

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Using ALOS/PALSAR, RADARSAT-2 ENVISAT/ASAR
Imagery to Define Habitats in the Nhecolândia
Region, Brazilian Pantanal Teresa Evans
(tevans_at_uvic.ca), Maycira Costa
(maycira_at_uvic.ca) University of Victoria,
Department of Geography, SPECTRAL Laboratory
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• Abstract The Brazilian Pantanal is a large
  continuous tropical wetland with large
  biodiversity and many threatened habitats. The
  interplay between the distribution of vegetation,
  the hydrology, the climate and the geomorphology
  nourishes and sustains the large diversity of
  flora and fauna in this wetland, but it is poorly
  understood at the scale of the entire Pantanal.
  This study uses multi-temporal L-band ALOS/PALSAR
  and C-band RADARSAT-2 and ENVISAT/ASAR data to
  map ecosystems and create a lake distribution map
  of the Nhecolândia region in the Brazilian
  Pantanal. A Level 1 object-based image analysis
  (OBIA) classification defining fresh and brackish
  lakes was achieved with accuracy results of 98.
  A Level 2 classification separating two types of
  fresh lakes and brackish lakes achieved with
  accuracy results of 81. The preliminary analysis
  of distribution of lakes in relationship to the
  marsh deer distribution showed that during the
  dry season, the marsh deer are in close proximity
  to permanent waterways such as the Rio Negro
  (Southern border of Nhecolândia) and the Rio
  Taquari (North-western border of Nhecolândia).
  During the flood season the deer begin to migrate
  away from the more deeply flooded low-lying areas
  and into the shallower, seasonally flooded areas,
  following the flooded/dry interface. However, the
  deer do not migrate into the central part of
  Nhecolândia, suggesting that the aquatic
  vegetation found in the baías alone is not enough
  to sustain the deers diet, regardless of season.
  
• Index TermsALOS PALSAR, KC Initiative, Wetlands
  Theme, Pantanal, wildlife habitats.

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Study Area Nhecolândia Region The Brazilian
Pantanal
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Importance, threats
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ALOS/PALSAR 12.5m HH/HV wet/dry season
L-band ENVISAT ASAR 12.5m HH/HV wet season
C-band RADARSAT-2 25m HH/HV dry season C-band
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HIERARCHICAL CLASSIFICATION STRATEGY
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Woodland? Woodland? Forest Woodland Forest Woodland
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Woodland? Woodland? Open Woodland Savanna Open Woodland Savanna
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Herbaceous? Herbaceous dry? Open Grassland Savanna Open Grassland Savanna
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Herbaceous? Herbaceous dry? Agriculture Agriculture
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Herbaceous? Seasonal Flood? Seasonal Wet Meadow Seasonal Wet Meadow
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Herbaceous? Seasonal Flood? Vazante Vazante
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Not Lake ? Level 2 ? Lake Mask Lake Mask Lake Mask Lake Mask
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Lake ? Level 3 ? Fresh Water? Fresh Water? Fresh Water? Floating and emergent aquatic vegetation (Baía)
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Lake ? Level 3 ? Fresh Water? Fresh Water? Fresh Water? Presence of Typha sp. (Salobra)
Nhecolândia ? (Level 1) Lake ? Level 3 ? Brackish Water? Brackish Water? Brackish Water? Brackish - No above surface aquatic vegetation (Salina)
Level 1
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LEGEND LEGEND
  Forest Woodland
  Open Woodland Savanna
  Open Grassland Savanna
  Agriculture
  Seasonal Wet Meadow
  Vazante
  Lake
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LEGEND LEGEND
  Floating and Emergent Vegetation (Fresh Water - Baia)
  Presence of Typha sp. (Fresh Water - Salobra)
  Brackish Water (Salina)
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LAKE BACKSCATTERING VARIABILITY AND GEOCHEMISTRY
- Overall accuracy classifying fresh and brackish
water 98 - further splitting lakes to 3
classes 81
LEGEND LEGEND
  Floating and Emergent Vegetation (Fresh Water - Baía)
  Presence of Typha sp. (Fresh Water - Salobra)
  Brackish Water (Salina)
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Final Product the only fine spatial resolution,
detailed habitat distribution map of the region,
including the spatial distribution of the three
types of lakeWill be used for1) ongoing local
habitat studies in the region (marsh deer,
jaguar)2) Baseline data for monitoring3)
Important information to aid in defining
conservation areas
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Acknowledgements
Ancillary Data
SAR Imagery
FUNDING!
Questions?
FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact me (Teresa Evans)
email tevans_at_uvic.ca Or visit my
website http//mapping.uvic.ca/spectral/our_peopl
e/t_evans