1. Watershed-Scale Airborne Remote Sensing Land Use and Conservation Practices Alabama Water Resources Conference Orange Beach, AL October 14, 2005 Mark H. Masters FRWPPC--ASU

2. Objectives Rapidly and accurately depict land cover within a watershed using image analysis Extend land use algorithms to include watershed-scale assessments of conservation tillage practices Evaluate the utility of aircraft derived land use maps for parameterizing hydrologic models Ultimately evaluate the “benefit” of conservation adoption on a watershed scale

3. Rationale High concentration of ag production in Georgia Coastal Plain –Increased concerns about water quality and quantity from many fronts Emphasis placed on conservation measures particularly tillage –2002 FSRI, “Farm Bill” Appears the 2007 will also be “conservation heavy” Georgia state and basin-wide planning A method to evaluate these conservation measures is needed on varying scales –Are we getting the benefits? Environmental, agronomic, economic

4. Georgia Agricultural Water Permits

5. Location: Headwaters of the Suwannee River Basin Size:334 km 2 Design:8 sub-watersheds Metrics:Stream and precipitation gages (1967). Topo:Gently sloping with broad, flat alluvial flood plains. Precip:Averages 120 cm yr -1 Hydrology:As a percentage of precipitation: Streamflow = 32 % Evapotranspiration = 67 % Deep Recharge = 1 %

6. Methods Remote sensing –SpectraView® multi-spectral imaging system –Aerial platform, Maule MX-7 –Wide range of data collection possibilities Multiple resolutions (1/4 – 2m) Tailor system depending on project (ag vs. urban)

7. Spectral : Blue470 ± 20 nm Green560 ± 25 nm Red660 ± 25 NIR870 ± 100

8. Methods Remote sensing system –SpectraView® multi-spectral imaging system –Aerial platform, Maule MX-7 –Flexibility in data acquisition Multiple resolutions (1/4 – 2m) Tailor system depending on project (ag vs. urban) Collection times Data collection and processing –Flight planning, “missions” Sub-basins N, O, J, K of Little River Monthly flights Jan-Mar, Oct-Dec Bi-monthly flights Apr-Sept 1m resolution, about 5000 ft.

10. Methods (continued) Data collection and processing –Raw data processing Hard drive delivered, up to 4700 images “Bandmatch” program to create one image Geo-referenced TIFF imported into ArcGIS Completed mosaics –Ground truth “Windshield surveys” –Monthly observations of specified areas Intense ground cover surveys –4 farm sites, 2 conventional & 2 conservation till –Quarterly measures of soil water content & residue cover –Single measures of soil texture, iron & organic carbon

12. Irrigation and Conservation Tillage Research between FRWPC & USDA National Peanut Research Lab: HHERC, Terrell County

13. Methods (continued) Data collection and processing –Raw data processing Hard drive delivered, up to 4700 images “Bandmatch” program to create one image Geo-referenced TIFF imported into ArcGIS Completed mosaics –Ground truth “Windshield surveys” –Monthly observations of specified areas Intense ground cover surveys –4 farm sites, 2 conventional & 2 conservation till –Quarterly measures of soil water content & residue cover –Single measures of soil texture, iron & organic carbon Spectral identification –Derivation of detailed land-use maps Incorporation into watershed models Economic modeling

15. Where are we? Completing the first year of data collection –Including all flights and ground truthing Spectral response & detailed land-use maps for Little River should be completed by Dec. 2005 … Going USDA SEWRL incorporation into SWAT watershed model for evaluation Economic evaluation using REMI –Alternative policy designs utilizing data Other projects utilizing remote sensing data –Ichaway watershed –Precision farming applications