Date of Award
9-11-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Agriculture, MSA
First Advisor
John Nowlin
Committee Members
Aaron Shew, Joseph Massey, Michele Reba, Nelson Benson
Call Number
ISBN 9798384076933
Abstract
Agricultural land conversion in Arkansas has caused the loss of 72% of wetland habitat, reducing wintering ground for migratory birds. Winter-flooded agriculture fields resemble seasonal wetlands. Federal agencies and private organizations have recognized the importance of this and have invested millions of dollars in subsidies. While remote sensing has been used in wildlife management, there is currently no method to remotely track adoption or monitor fields. To create this ability, we examined four spectral indices: normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and two different versions of the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI). We also compared these indices using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 data using different thresholds. MNDWI 1 showed the highest accuracy, 96.24%, using Landsat data with an optimal threshold. Results from this study show that winter-flooded fields can be accurately identified and allow policymakers to make management decisions based on scientific reasoning.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dill, Thomas Patrick, "Evaluation Of Satellite-Based Remote Sensing Methods for Monitoring of Winter-Flooding of Agricultural Fields for Migratory Birds" (2024). Student Theses and Dissertations. 29.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/29
