st condition
.
0% for most
ining surface
. These data
tressed state.
| exceeded a
surface water
events in the
> depends on
ntation of ET
aters have a
lrer. A high
indicative of
is vegetation
ation of this
is been noted
er (e.g. flood
il, 2010b).
' rates, which
led with tree
There was a
between 1993
T rates (Table
| power and
rs. A decline
e species has
s (Kingsford,
1 2003, which
| rainfall (516
crease WAV
8, which may
iter associated
srowth within
n of both. In
es and River
lains wetland
es to water
adson, 2003;
:d data used in
sments of the
points in time.
her contextual
use when the
, for example,
od’ condition,
considered to
ition extracted
sidered to be
dition may be
NDVI and ET
> of only three
yvement to this
rovide a more
)VI within the
| improve the
ondition as the
nature of riparian environments increases the complexity of
these assessments.
Despite these limitations, the results presented demonstrate the
potential contribution of satellite-based remotely sensed data to
improved understanding of water requirements and vegetation
status within the Barmah Forest. The results show that the
information provides an important opportunity for monitoring
vegetation within riparian ecosystems.
While this study focussed on the Barmah Forest, the nature of
remotely sensed data enables the methods presented to be easily
applied across broader landscapes. A significant advantage of
using satellite-based measurements is that they are affordable,
repeatable and offer a comprehensive assessment of a landscape
rather than isolated point-based assessments. These
characteristics lend themselves to a monitoring system that can
be used to assess vegetation responses within riparian systems
over time. This information can also be linked with other data
sources or surveys (Lawrence and Colloff, 2008; Scott et al.,
2008; Sims and Colloff, 2012), as these complex riparian
systems require many types of information to make water
management decisions and assess the impacts of drought, flood
and environmental flows.
Remotely sensed data can be easily integrated with other spatial
information such as vegetation mapping, flood extent mapping
and digital elevation models. The monitoring potential of
remotely sensed data (Anderson et al., 2012) can complement
information provided by assessments of flooding requirements
of plant species (Bacon et al., 1993; Dexter and Poynter, 2005;
Fitzsimons et al., 2011; Peake et al, 2011). This suite of
information can provide a more meaningful evaluation of the
impacts of changing water availability within riparian systems
and evaluate management practices.
5. CONCLUSION
Improved water management in riparian systems can be
informed through a greater understanding of how much water is
used and how much water is required. To achieve this, an
objective, repeatable and affordable measurement system for
vegetation status and water use is required. The use of satellite-
based assessments of water use to support resource management
and monitoring is advocated by Anderson et al (2012). This
paper demonstrated the potential contribution of satellite-based
measurements to improving understanding of water
requirements and vegetation status within the Barmah Forest.
Measures of ET and NDVI, analysed in conjunction with
rainfall and river flow data, provided insights into the response
of vegetation to changes in water availability, which could be
used to evaluate impacts of managed water regimes and
management practices within the riparian system. The data
could also be used in conjunction with contextual information
to provide baseline assessments of vegetation condition. The
results presented in this paper show that remotely sensed data
can potentially provide important monitoring opportunities
within riparian ecosystems.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the Victorian Department of
Primary Industries, the Victorian Department of Sustainability
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XXXIX-B8, 2012
XXII ISPRS Congress, 25 August — 01 September 2012, Melbourne, Australia
and Environment, the National Water Commission and the CRC
Irrigation Futures.
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