Landsat-Based Monitoring of Landscape Dynamics at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, n2007–2012.

摘要

The Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network (GLKN) implemented the long-term land cover disturbance monitoring protocol at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU) and completed the initial analysis in 2015. Disturbances, defined here as distinct changes in vegetation cover, are an important part of how this Great Lakes coastal system functions. Monitoring these disturbances through time will provide information regarding historic disturbance regimes compared to present and future conditions and trends. For this analysis, disturbances in and around INDU were delineated for six years (2007–2012) using a combination of Landsat satellite imagery and high resolution aerial photos. We employed a set of computer algorithms, collectively known as LandTrendr, in conjunction with an annual time series of Landsat imagery (one midsummer composite image, yearly since 1984) to track vegetation changes in and around the park. LandTrendr was used to identify apparent disturbances and the year of occurrence, after which high resolution imagery was used to validate the occurrence and determine the agent of change.