Vegetation mapping of Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands, Phase I

Project Name: Vegetation mapping of Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands, Phase I, L-31E Flow way and N Canal Freshwater Wetland Communities.

Project Link: TBD

Funding Agency: South Florida Water Management District

People: Brittany Harris (PI) / Daniel Gann (Co-PI) / Michael Ross (Co-PI)

Sea-level rise is impacting the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) and projected increases in the intensity of hurricanes and storm surge events will multiply these effects. Along the low-lying South Florida coast, healthy
wetland vegetation can mitigate tidal disturbances and buffer nearby human infrastructure from damage from these sources. Among the elements of the coastal vegetation matrix, mangroves are particularly valuable for their ability to absorb winds and buffer tidal changes, but also for biomass accumulation and carbon capture. One of the primary objectives of the BBCW restoration is to promote healthy vegetation and enhance nursery habitat for aquatic organisms by restoring historical freshwater flows through coastal wetlands before they enter the bay. This project will aid in assessing the success of these efforts by integrating a state-of-the-art vegetation mapping component into the ongoing ecosystem monitoring program. The addition of repeatable, system-wide, detailed mapping coverage will allow for definitive comparisons of restoration objectives to outcomes and promote effective adaptive management.

We propose to develop a baseline vegetation map of the coastal freshwater wetland and mangrove communities along the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) by training a random forest classifier with a time series of Planet multispectral satellite imagery and vegetation structural metrics derived from aerial LiDAR. Future mapping efforts will allow us to detect vegetation change in response to proposed hydrological management efforts.