Poster Details
SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FINE RESOLUTION LAND USE DATA AND STREAM MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES
The Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport area is located in a densely-urbanized area with one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S.A. The airport property includes a large tract of “protected” riparian forest that is unique to the urban surroundings. In 2014, the DFW Airport sponsored a biomonitoring survey of its surface waters. One objective of this study was to identify areas within the watershed that had the potential to affect water quality. To achieve this, a land use analysis was conducted using 5-meter resolution satellite imagery and eCognition, an object-based-image-analysis software. Relationships were explored at different spatial scales (watershed, riparian corridor, and reach corridor) and results were analyzed alongside benthic macroinvertebrate data. Similar studies that relate land use to stream conditions utilize coarse (30-meter) resolution datasets with varying results. Our methods, at a finer resolution, have the potential to further elucidate the importance of land use changes that take place within the watershed.
Megann Harlow (Primary Presenter/Author), Univeristy of North Texas, megannharlow@my.unt.edu;
James Kennedy (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of North Texas, kennedy@unt.edu;