Mapping Potential Wetland Habitat Throughout the C&O Canal National Historical Park using Remote Sensing and GIS-based Data
Lance Bragin - Graduate Student, Hood College, Environmental Biology Program
Methods of wetland identification are advancing from remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to assist in land management decisions. We developed a map that consisted of a multi- layered wetland ranking system to identify areas of potential wetlands on a large scale. The map was constructed from wetland predictors National Land Cover Database (NLCD), Vegetation Community data (from National Park Service/NatureServe), slope percentage, and soil. The ranking system’s potential wetland scores were ground-truthed with wetland delineation procedures inside NPS’ C&O Canal National Historical Park. Vegetation community data were the strongest predictor for wetland identification followed by NLCD. Slope and soil were not strong predictors of wetlands but still considered potentially useful ancillary data. This research indicates the strength in identifying potential wetlands based on NPS’s vegetation community data. Future studies of more comprehensive models that include ancillary data may offer expansion of the ranking system to other parks.
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