Monday, November 13, 2006 - 3:00 PM
125-3

Integrating Geologic and Landscape Data to Identify, Preserve, and Restore Midwestern Seep Wetlands.

Lenore Tedesco, F. Vincent Hernly, Dustin Graves, and Bob E. Hall. IUPUI, Dept of Earth Sciences, 723 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202

The identification of small wetlands is time consuming, and frequently restricted by access to properties. Aerial photographic techniques are being used to aid the identification of remaining wetland acreage. Current methodologies are increasingly utilizing multi-spectral imagery, but results are highly dependent upon the availability of imagery with proper seasonal resolution. Even with excellent data sets, anthropogenic modification of the landscape and the minimal spatial extent of many groundwater-fed wetlands make their identification via remote means improbable. An understanding of the landscape position and geologic setting of groundwater seeps provides a predictive framework for the occurrence of slope and seep wetlands in the glaciated Midwest. Coupling remote sensing techniques with existing interpretative geologic data sets allows for the rapid identification of probable wetland locations. This technique has been successfully applied in the central Indiana area to predict the location and hydrologic source of a series of seep wetlands. Field mapping and hydrogeochemical analyses have shown that fens within this particular geologic setting are similar. The technique is capable of locating small wetlands and may be used to identify the locations of drained seep wetlands. Rapid mapping of regional hydrologic sources for seep wetlands provides opportunities for the identification of wetland restoration sites.

Back to Organic Soils and Changing Environments
Back to S11 Soils & Environmental Quality

Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 12-16, 2006)