Mapping of Eelgrass and Other SAV Using Remote Sensing and GIS
Of the 58 species of seagrass that grow worldwide, Zostera marina, commonly called eelgrass, is by far the most common along the eastern coast of the US. Its range once extended almost continuously from Nova Scotia down to South Carolina on the East coast and from Alaska to the Gulf of California on...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1061.3477 http://www.edc.uri.edu/nrs/classes/NRS409/509_2004/Mueller.pdf |
| Summary: | Of the 58 species of seagrass that grow worldwide, Zostera marina, commonly called eelgrass, is by far the most common along the eastern coast of the US. Its range once extended almost continuously from Nova Scotia down to South Carolina on the East coast and from Alaska to the Gulf of California on the West coast. Its ability to grow is usually limited by the availability of light, and it is therefore confined to water less than approximately 2 meters deep. Eelgrass is a highly productive marine subaquatic vegetation (SAV) that provides important benefits to ecosystems in which it grows. These benefits include improving sediment stability, serving as a food source for various organisms, reduction of shoreline erosion due to lessening of wave energy, and providing refuge habitat for juveniles of some commercially important finfish species. In the 1930's, North Atlantic populations were nearly decimated by a virulent outbreak of a marine slime mold. In the decades following World War II, public and scientific awareness of the importance of this habitat allowed eelgrass to recover much of its former range. However, anthropogenic impacts such as increased fertilizer use and a steady increase in coastal development have degraded near shore water quality by increasing turbidity and eutrophication. In turn, these factors slowed and eventually reversed the recovery process of eelgrass. Studies have estimated that since the 1970's, between 45 and 70% of the eelgrass habitat that recovered after the wasting disease outbreak has been lost again. In the past, field surveys have been the predominant method used to determine the existence and extent of eelgrass habitats. This method can be very accurate, however it is also very labor intensive and time consuming and the quality and accuracy of the data can vary depending on the survey methods employed. Aerial photography has also been used to map eelgrass, however the photos are often very expensive to obtain, which could prove problematic for an application such as this, ... |
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