Vegetation plays a key role in the environmental function of wetlands. The Ramsar-listed wetlands of the Magela Creek floodplain in Northern Australia are identified as being at risk from weeds, fire ...and climate change. In addition, the floodplain is a downstream receiving environment for the Ranger Uranium Mine. Accurate methods for mapping wetland vegetation are required to provide contemporary baselines of annual vegetation dynamics on the floodplain to assist with analysing any potential change during and after minesite rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to develop and test the applicability of geographic object-based image analysis including decision tree classification to classify WorldView-2 imagery and LiDAR-derived ancillary data to map the aquatic vegetation communities of the Magela Creek floodplain. Results of the decision tree classification were compared against a Random Forests classification. The resulting maps showed the 12 major vegetation communities that exist on the Magela Creek floodplain and their distribution for May 2010. The decision tree classification method provided an overall accuracy of 78% which was significantly higher than the overall accuracy of the Random Forests classification (67%). Most of the error in both classifications was associated with confusion between spectrally similar classes dominated by grasses, such as Hymenachne and Pseudoraphis. In addition, the extent of the sedge Eleocharis was under-estimated in both cases. This suggests the method could be useful for mapping wetlands where statistical-based supervised classifications have achieved less than satisfactory results. Based upon the results, the decision tree method will form part of an ongoing operational monitoring program.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Society’s expectations for mining operations are that they are undertaken using the principles of sustainable development. Numerous mines have been ‘rehabilitated’ in past decades without clear ...closure criteria or regulatory oversight and are characterised by less than desirable environmental outcomes. These sites provide us with information and data (in some instances) to inform future mine site restoration efforts and the sustainable development of mining resources. However, this information and data are often contained in inaccessible grey literature or have been lost over time. We used records and data on revegetation efforts and outcomes at mine sites in and around the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) of the Northern Territory, Australia, to demonstrate the extent and currency of rehabilitation knowledge. There have been 20 mines in the region since 1950 and we found that these sites are in various deviated ecological states and that data for these mines were generally unavailable or unable to be located. A number of studies have been conducted at the largest operation, Ranger uranium mine, and there is also information from Nabarlek and South Alligator River Valley mines. We furthered the understanding of the system using available information to develop a preliminary state and transition model for eucalypt-dominated ecosystems in the region. The identification of likely desired and undesired ecological states and management requirements developed in this model could be used to actively guide future restoration and research efforts, particularly at Ranger uranium mine. Based on the lessons learned from the mine sites in the ARR, we provide recommendations for monitoring revegetation in the future.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
3.
Of Course We Fly Unmanned—We’re Women Joyce, Karen E.; Anderson, Karen; Bartolo, Renee E.
Drones (Basel),
03/2021, Volume:
5, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Striving to achieve a diverse and inclusive workplace has become a major goal for many organisations around the world ...
Savanna ecosystems are challenging to map and monitor as their vegetation is highly dynamic in space and time. Understanding the structural diversity and biomass distribution of savanna vegetation ...requires high-resolution measurements over large areas and at regular time intervals. These requirements cannot currently be met through field-based inventories nor spaceborne satellite remote sensing alone. UAV-based remote sensing offers potential as an intermediate scaling tool, providing acquisition flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Yet despite the increased availability of lightweight LiDAR payloads, the suitability of UAV-based LiDAR for mapping and monitoring savanna 3D vegetation structure is not well established. We mapped a 1 ha savanna plot with terrestrial-, mobile- and UAV-based laser scanning (TLS, MLS, and ULS), in conjunction with a traditional field-based inventory (n = 572 stems > 0.03 m). We treated the TLS dataset as the gold standard against which we evaluated the degree of complementarity and divergence of structural metrics from MLS and ULS. Sensitivity analysis showed that MLS and ULS canopy height models (CHMs) did not differ significantly from TLS-derived models at spatial resolutions greater than 2 m and 4 m respectively. Statistical comparison of the resulting point clouds showed minor over- and under-estimation of woody canopy cover by MLS and ULS, respectively. Individual stem locations and DBH measurements from the field inventory were well replicated by the TLS survey (R2 = 0.89, RMSE = 0.024 m), which estimated above-ground woody biomass to be 7% greater than field-inventory estimates (44.21 Mg ha−1 vs 41.08 Mg ha−1). Stem DBH could not be reliably estimated directly from the MLS or ULS, nor indirectly through allometric scaling with crown attributes (R2 = 0.36, RMSE = 0.075 m). MLS and ULS show strong potential for providing rapid and larger area capture of savanna vegetation structure at resolutions suitable for many ecological investigations; however, our results underscore the necessity of nesting TLS sampling within these surveys to quantify uncertainty. Complementing large area MLS and ULS surveys with TLS sampling will expand our options for the calibration and validation of multiple spaceborne LiDAR, SAR, and optical missions.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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•Spectra of savanna understorey vegetation species over phenological seasons.•Separability of functional groups, and species, depended on season.•Informs species separation and timing ...for drone-based hyperspectral captures.•VNIR drone spectral range excludes foliar traits such as cellular water absorption.
The relationship between species phenology and spectral separability is essential to determine the optimal remote sensing sampling period to maximise spectral separability of vegetation species. However, this relationship in many native grasses, introduced grasses and herbs, shrubs, and vine species in tropical savannas is unknown. We measured the in-situ hyperspectral response of monospecific vegetation stands of several understorey species representing different functional groups over phenological stages (throughout dry and wet seasons) using a non-imaging spectrometer. We present a spectral library of both native and introduced species of a tropical savanna environment. We analysed the data using continuum removal to highlight absorption features. Most understorey species displayed a photosynthetic spectral response with increased greenness at the end of the wet season that progressively declined as vegetation dried out. For some species, there were seasonally dependent differences in absorption features with spectral differences between the late wet and early dry season, and late dry and early wet seasons. We resampled the data to the spectral range typical of drone-mounted hyperspectral sensors (i.e., 150 bands between 400 and 1000 nm), which omits the water absorption features of the SWIR. These findings suggest an ideal sampling period for measuring outdoor canopy reflectance of understorey species, which will promote methodological improvements of hyperspectral data capture. The use of a VNIR only hyperspectral sensor will exclude the important regions of the spectrum for plant spectral identification including non-pigment bands for water, nitrogen and cellulose. The results have implications for determining the completeness of rehabilitation assessing reestablishment among indigenous species across mine sites under rehabilitation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Ecological Risk Assessments (ERAs) are important tools for supporting evidence-based decision making. However, most ERA frameworks rarely consider complex ecological feedbacks, which limit their ...capacity to evaluate risks at community and ecosystem levels of organisation.
We used qualitative mathematical modelling to add additional perspectives to previously conducted ERAs for the rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine (Northern Territory, Australia) and support an assessment of the cumulative risks from the mine site. Using expert elicitation workshops, separate qualitative models and scenarios were developed for aquatic and terrestrial systems. The models developed in the workshops were used to construct Bayes Nets that predicted whole-of-ecosystem outcomes after components were perturbed.
The terrestrial model considered the effect of fire and weeds on established native vegetation that will be important for the successful rehabilitation of Ranger. It predicted that a combined intervention that suppresses both weeds and fire intensity gave similar response predictions as for weed control alone, except for lower levels of certainty to tall grasses and fire intensity in models with immature trees or tall grasses. However, this had ambiguous predictions for short grasses and forbs, and tall grasses in models representing mature vegetation. The aquatic model considered the effects of magnesium (Mg), a key solute in current and predicted mine runoff and groundwater egress, which is known to adversely affect many aquatic species. The aquatic models provided support that attached algae and phytoplankton assemblages are the key trophic base for food webs. It predicted that shifts in phytoplankton abundance arising from increase in Mg to receiving waters, may result in cascading effects through the food-chain.
The qualitative modelling approach was flexible and capable of modelling both gradual (i.e. decadal) processes in the mine-site restoration and the comparatively more rapid (seasonal) processes of the aquatic ecosystem. The modelling also provides a useful decision tool for identifying important ecosystem sub-systems for further research efforts.
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•Experts constructed signed diagraphs for the ERA of a large mine-site rehabilitation.•Weeds and fires affected the success of terrestrial ecosystem rehabilitation.•Key aquatic taxonomic groups supporting higher trophic levels were highlighted.•Feedback loops, cumulative risks and whole of ecosystem effects could be visualised.•Qualitative modelling added value to other risk assessment approaches.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Context
Forest restoration plays an important role in global efforts to slow biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change. Vegetation in remnant forests can form striking patterns that relate to ...ecological processes, but restoration targets tend to overlook spatial pattern. While observations of intact reference ecosystems can help to inform restoration targets, field surveys are ill-equipped to map and quantify spatial pattern at a range of scales, and new approaches are needed.
Objective
This review sought to explore practical options for creating landscape-scale forest restoration targets that embrace spatial pattern.
Methods
We assessed how hierarchy theory, satellite remote sensing, landscape pattern analysis, drone-based remote sensing and spatial point pattern analysis could be applied to assess the spatial pattern of reference landscapes and inform forest restoration targets.
Results
Hierarchy theory provides an intuitive framework for stratifying landscapes as nested hierarchies of sub-catchments, forest patches and stands of trees. Several publicly available tools can map patches within landscapes, and landscape pattern analysis can be applied to quantify the spatial pattern of these patches. Drones can collect point clouds and orthomosaics at the stand scale, a plethora of software can create maps of individual trees, and spatial point pattern analysis can be applied to quantify the spatial pattern of mapped trees.
Conclusions
This review explored several practical options for producing landscape scale forest restoration targets that embrace spatial pattern. With the decade on ecosystem restoration underway, there is a pressing need to refine and operationalise these ideas.
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EMUNI, FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The miniaturisation of hyperspectral sensors for use on drones has provided an opportunity to obtain hyper temporal data that may be used to identify and monitor non-native grass species. However, a ...good understanding of variation in spectra for species over time is required to target such data collections. Five taxological and morphologically similar non-native grass species were hyper spectrally characterised from multitemporal spectra (17 samples over 14 months) over phenological seasons to determine their temporal spectral response. The grasses were sampled from maintained plots of homogenous non-native grass cover. A robust in situ standardised sampling method using a non-imaging field spectrometer measuring reflectance across the 350–2500 nm wavelength range was used to obtain reliable spectral replicates both within and between plots. The visible-near infrared (VNIR) to shortwave infrared (SWIR) and continuum removed spectra were utilised. The spectra were then resampled to the VNIR only range to simulate the spectral response from more affordable VNIR only hyperspectral scanners suitable to be mounted on drones. We found that species were separable compared to similar but different species. The spectral patterns were similar over time, but the spectral shape and absorption features differed between species, indicating these subtle characteristics could be used to distinguish between species. It was the late dry season and the end of the wet season that provided maximum separability of the non-native grass species sampled. Overall the VNIR-SWIR results highlighted more dissimilarity for unlike species when compared to the VNIR results alone. The SWIR is useful for discriminating species, particularly around water absorption.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Managing saline water discharges from mining operations is a global environmental challenge. Measuring the location and extent of surface efflorescence can indicate solute movement before changes in ...electrical conductivity (EC) are detected in waterways. We hypothesised through the use of a case study that ground-based reflectance spectrometry and airborne hyperspectral (450–2500 nm) analysis of surface efflorescence could be a rapid method for monitoring large regions of the surrounding environment, including downstream of remote mines. X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence were used to determine mineralogy and elemental composition of surface salts around a uranium mine. Salt samples were found to be mixtures of magnesium sulfate. The reflectance of field spectra varied depending on the hydration of the mineral, mainly hexahydrite and starkeyite. A constrained energy minimisation technique was used to match the field reflectance spectra to the airborne data. Airborne matches were confirmed at the field sampling sites and surrounds. Salts were also detected at lower matches at mine water irrigation areas where excess mine water had previously been applied. Hence, hyperspectral remote sensing is a potentially rapid and sensitive method for mapping magnesium sulfates over large areas in operating and rehabilitated mines. It was successfully demonstrated as a tool for monitoring and assessment of efflorescence as a result of saline processes.
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•Composition and extent of MgSO4 efflorescence mapped with hyperspectral data•Hexahydrite and starkeyite were the dominant salt mineralogy identified by XRD.•Elevated uranium detected by a spectral absorption at 0.44 μm confirmed by XRD•A constrained energy minimisation technique matched field data to airborne survey•Remote method detected known locations of efflorescence from saline drainage.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Savanna landscapes are characterised by a canopy of discontinuous tree cover overlying an understorey of shrubs and continuous grass cover. The distribution of trees (woody cover) is variable both ...spatially and temporally. Analysis of woody cover dynamics can provide a spatial and temporal envelope encompassing variability is useful for informing mine closure criteria. With the impending closure of Ranger uranium mine, ecologically appropriate closure criteria for ecosystem restoration are being developed through a framework of rehabilitation standards. One such closure criteria is canopy cover and historical woody cover is being used to derive the range in woody cover that can be expected over time once the mine site has been revegetated. This study reports on the development and testing of a technique for extracted woody cover from remotely sensed data (in the form of historical aerial photography and satellite imagery) in the areas adjacent to Ranger uranium mine in the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. An object-based image analysis technique was applied to four data sets from four different dates: greyscale, true colour and colour infrared aerial photo mosaics (from 1964, 1976 and 1981 respectively) and a high spatial resolution satellite image (from 2010). Overall accuracies of woody cover from each of the data sets exceeded 94%. In addition, proportional cover derived from this method displays linear relationships to cover derived from visual estimates. Due to the success of the technique, it will be applied to more data sets from different dates over the study area to assess the variability of woody cover over time to inform ecosystem restoration criteria for the mine closure.
•Savanna tree cover shows spatiotemporal variability.•An object-based method extracted tree cover from aerial photos and satellite data.•This semi-automated method is comparable to visually interpreted methods.•Provides spatially continuous data sets for whole site analysis.•Results can be used to describe variability over time.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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