DUC 2017 Fieldwork Overview: Akaitcho Wetland Mapping Project

Transcription

1 DUC 2017 Fieldwork Overview: Akaitcho Wetland Mapping Project Prepared for MobileDemand Project Managers: Kevin Smith, Al Richard Lead Technical Analyst: *Michael Merchant Support Analysts: Becca Warren, Becky Edwards, Adam Spitzig *Project Contact 1

2 1.0 Executive Summary Boreal wetlands represent a large percentage of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada landscape (20-50%) and provide critical ecosystem services such as water filtration and storage, carbon sequestration, and subsistence and recreational hunting and fishing. In addition, wetlands provide critical habitat for wildlife including listed species and many birds of high conservation priority. Despite their abundance and internationally recognized importance, wetlands in the NWT remain poorly understood, in part because a spatial wetland inventory (i.e. wetland maps) of appropriate ecological representation does not exist. The Akaitcho wetland mapping project is led by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), in collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Incorporated (DUI) and a committee of interested groups including local First Nations and Métis communities, to produce ecologically relevant digital wetland inventories using satellite based remotely sensed data for a portion (77 million acres) of the Akaitcho Traditional Territory (Figure 1). Figure 1: Project boundary extent for the DUC Akaitcho wetland mapping project, Northwest Territories, Canada. 2

3 2.0 Methods Figure 2: Example of a false color Landsat satellite image acquired over Alberta, Canada (left) used to develop a DUC digital wetland inventory (right). To develop wetland maps using satellite imagery, ground truthed field data must first be collected. This allows the analyst to then train computer models that classify the satellite images into various land cover types (see Figure 2 for example), and then provide an assessment on its accuracy. To support the Akaitcho wetland mapping project, a field campaign was conducted in July 2017 within the NWT. Ground data collected during this field campaign consisted of vegetation surveys at various pre-selected locations (i.e. field sites) within the mapping project boundary. Via overhead helicopter, the following information was recorded at each field site location: 1) Vegetation species composition, height, and cover 2) Wetland Class (e.g. open water, marsh, etc.) 3) Landscape characteristics (e.g. nutrient, moisture, etc.) 4) Site photographs This information is required to complete the wetland mapping computer processing completed by the analyst s, post-field work. Helicopters, rather than by foot or ground transportation, are required to navigate from site-to-site due to the spatial extents of the 3

4 project and the general inaccessibility (i.e. remoteness) of many of the locations. However, some reconnaissance was completed using boat access within the Slave River Delta, as well as fixed-wing across the more distant remote stretches of the project in-which helicopters could not reach. 3.0 MobileDemand Products MobileDemand T8650 rugged xtablets were acquired by the DUC field team to support infield navigation and spatial data recording purposes. Spatial mapping software (ArcGIS) was loaded onto the tablets prior to the field campaign. This software allowed the Analyst to view satellite imagery in the field in relation to their GPS spatial location. Furthermore, this supported the navigation from site-to-site, and was a welcomed time-reduction in comparison to paper-map navigation techniques. Lastly, tablets allowed the analyst to record a GPS point each time a site was surveyed, making the recording process more seamless and quicker. 4.0 Pictures of the Field Campaign and In-Field Tablet Usage Figure 3: View of the helicopter from the ground used to complete overhead vegetation surveys. Note* Northern Shield Helicopters was the company contracted for helicopter flying. 4

5 Figure 4: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant prior to helicopter take-off for vegetation surveying. Figure 5: Helicopter cockpit view of a large wetland complex. 5

6 Figure 6: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant navigating with the MobileDemand tablet during a helicopter flight, and collecting vegetation survey information. Figure 7: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant using the MobileDemand tablet to support boat navigation within the Slave River Delta, NWT. 6

7 Figure 8: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren prior to take-off for fixed-wing reconnaissance across remote parts of eastern Northwest Territories, NWT. Figure 9: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren viewing satellite imagery and recording spatial locations with the MobileDemand Tablet during a Fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT. 7

8 Figure 10: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren viewing satellite imagery with the MobileDemand Tablet during a Fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT. Figure 11: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant working with a local Métis technician, describing satellite imagery using the MobileDemand Tablet during a fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT. 8

9 Figure 12: View of the MobileDemand Tablet with ArcGIS mapping software, and an example of satellite imagery and field site location points. 9