Spatio-Temporal Connectivity Analysis of Gulf Coast Floodplain Riparian Forests and Wetlands

Keywords: connectivity, fragmentation, riparian forests, wetlands, fluvial-flood systems, floodplain-river ecosystems, floodplains, ecosystems management, stability
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 46

Abstract

The perseverance of riparian forests and wetlands in floodplain-river ecosystems is essential to the balance of fluvial-flood systems. Floodplain-river ecosystems are naturally fragmented systems, due to hydrologic connections at intervals. The stability of these systems is dependent on the transfer of energy and matter between different patches, such as the river channel, adjacent surfaces, geomorphological features, and land cover types during periods of hydrologic connectivity. The introduction of anthropogenic processes in floodplain-river systems has caused an unnatural rate of fragmentation in wetlands and riparian forests. This study aimed to analyze the change in these natural classes’ fragmentation from 1938-2019. Riparian forest and wetland land cover was extracted from the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and clipped to GFPlain250m floodplains. The scope of the study was defined as the US Gulf of Mexico Region. The connectivity of riparian forests and wetlands was calculated using Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), in the Guidos toolbox. Eleven fragmentation classes were calculated for each land cover class in forty-three different floodplains. This was done for three years - 1938, 2001, 2019. Results of the temporal analysis were then assessed for correlation between increased fragmentation and anthropogenic influences. The results indicated that fragmentation of riparian forests and wetlands was correlated with anthropogenic processes. This study demonstrated that there was a dissimilarity in the severity of connectivity declination across boundaries and depending on floodplain size. The results provide insight on the importance of accounting for spatio-temporal changes in connectivity.