State of Science Assessment of Remote Sensing for Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands

During both the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Study (LOSLRS) and the International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS), coastal wetland performance indicators were developed and used to help assess how changes in water level management strategies may impact wetland vegetation response. As part of the Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River study (LOSLRS), the meadow marsh performance in particular was critical to the decision to support the newly adopted Plan 2014. Tracking changes in Great Lakes coastal wetland vegetation, particularly the meadow marsh community, is critical to validate existing models and to assess how changes in water level regulation plans may be impacting vegetation response. Remote sensing approaches for characterizing vegetation and topography/bathymetry of coastal wetlands represent an important opportunity to assess change over a large area and improve existing predictive models and the state of science is evolving rapidly. This project aims to capture the current state of data collection and processing that can be used to guide GLAM efforts in developing a long-term strategy to assess water level driven change in wetland vegetation. The key product in this project is a synthesis report capturing the state of science regarding remote sensing of coastal wetlands in the Great Lakes basin.