Using Remote Sensing to Detect and Monitor Change on Military Lands
RC-1098
Objective
Through the use of remote sensing, as shown here at Fort Bliss, TX, and Camp Williams, UT, we can identify areas that are being severely impacted by continued military training and other uses.
The current and future training and testing needs of Department of Defense (DoD) lands are expected to generate requirements for ecosystem repair and maintenance that may well exceed the current estimated annual costs of $56 million. The DoD needs more efficient and accurate tools, models, and techniques that better characterize and quantify the training and testing capacities of the land’s resources and that support more effective use and recovery planning.
Researchers are endeavoring to stratify the landscapes of individual military ranges using contemporary and emerging remote sensing technologies to identify the fundamental vegetation and soil attributes of military ranges. The planned work will identify the spatial, spectral, and temporal attributes of remote sensing systems necessary to identify ecotones, distinguish along environmental and disturbance gradients, and develop methods for scaling indices between coarse and fine resolution imagery.
Technical Approach
This project will map selected installations to identify areas of known change or disturbance from training or testing operations. The mapping will cover both peak wet and dry seasons. High resolution systems will be assessed to identify the sensor attributes necessary to monitor changes in species composition along disturbance gradients and plant succession stages. The two levels of classification to be tested are: seral stages within a plant community and plant cover. Vegetation maps will be generated for Camp Williams, UT, and Fort Bliss, TX, and algorithms have been developed for improved and more efficient image processing. Ground calibration will be conducted, and relationships will be established to the soiladjusted vegetation index. Lastly, spatial accuracy/uncertainty analysis will be undertaken to include the selected sites, sensors, and techniques.
Results
A range of spectral, spatial, and temporal attributes of airborne and satellite sensors have been evaluated for their capability to differentiate features in the landscape and the effects of military training and testing. Image processing algorithms were developed to standardize and atmospherically correct historical imagery. GIS algorithms were developed to calculate site-water balance at different spatial and temporal scales, calculate and optimize vegetation indices, and retrospectively evaluate impacts of anthropogenic and climatic disturbances. Correlations from multiple regressions indicate that image biophysical variables can predict vegetation cover in arid soils with a high degree of accuracy. Tutorials have been developed and placed on linked web sites.
Benefits
This project will provide DoD managers with efficient models and techniques to better characterize and quantify the military training and testing carrying capacity of land resources. Managers will be able to predict the impacts of land use, understand the risks associated with use, and weigh decisions to provide training flexibility versus environmental or ecological damage.
Project Documents
Symposium & Workshop
FY 2013 New Start Project Selections
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Mr. Randall Karalus
U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center
Phone: 703-428-7251
Fax: 703-428-6425
Program Manager
Resource Conservation and Climate Change
SERDP and ESTCP
Project Documents
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.