Lacy Smith Geog /13/2010

Project Sites & Background

Objective Pond 3: Can I assess Spartina foliosa colonization using true color aerial photography? How has the pond land cover changed since restoration? Fagan Marsh: Can I isolate salt marsh channels using true color aerial photography?

Methods ArcGIS NAIP 2005, 2009 imagery for Solano and Napa counties Site polygon outlines Training set polygons -> spectral signatures Pond 3: Spartina foliosa, algae, water, mudflat Fagan Marsh: channels, bare ground, marsh vegetation Spatial Analyst Multivariate Maximum Likelihood Classification Classification to image comparison

Pond 3 – initial classification

Pond 3 - problems

Pond 3 – final classification Land Cover% of Pond 2005% of Pond 2009 Spartina foliosa--< 1 Algae2731 Water6454 Mudflat915

Fagan Marsh

Fagan Marsh – Channel Analysis

Conclusions Difficult to distinguish vegetation types using imagery with only 3 spectral bands If you want it to be much more accurate essential to invest the extra money Tidal channels with different water levels have too many spectral signatures that are similar to those of the vegetation and bare ground