Marcelle Grenier

An object-based method to map wetland using RADARSAT-1 and Landsat ETM images: test case on two sites in Quebec, Canada

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Quebec region, of Environment Canada tested a multiscale object-based classification method on two test sites using satellite images to map wetlands in the context of the Canadian Wetland Inventory (CWI). The objective of this study was to assess the method most adapted for the Canadian inventory program to map five wetland classes (bog, fen, swamp, marsh, and shallow water), for a minimal geographical unit of 1 ha, from RADARSAT-1 and Landsat-7 enhanced thematic mapper (ETM) data. The top-down object-based classification selected was based on the Canadian Wetland Classification System and identifies quickly and precisely the ecologically meaningful polygons of wetlands. Validation was done on two levels: (i) between “other” versus “wetland” and (ii) between each class of wetland. Global accuracy values for the first level are greater than 80% for both test sites and about 76% and 67%, respectively, for the two sites for the second level. This approach is well adapted to wetland mapping on both the thematic and the spatial level.

Agriculture intensification and forest fragmentation in the St. Lawrence valley, Quebec, Canada

Quantifying remaining forest cover and understanding how thefragmentation process operates with respect to the various land-use practicesare important steps when working to preserve the biodiversity associated withwoodlots in agricultural landscapes. We used LANDSAT satellite imagery, soiltypes, and boundaries of regional county municipalities (RCM) as the samplingunit of a 6 million-ha territory located in southern Québec (Canada), to provide a picture of the forest situation in the St. Lawrence Valley.We assessed the effect of human population densities and various types ofagricultural production on the fragmentation process. On average, 45% of thetotal land area of RCMs is forested. However, in 8 of the 59 RCMs studied 20%orless of the total area is still forest habitat. As agricultural use of landincreased, the density of woodlots also increased but their average sizedecreased. An overall fragmentation effect seems to occur where less than 50%ofthe territory is forested, as it is the case for 31 of the 59 studied RCMs.Fragmentation increased along a gradient from traditional dairyagriculture to more intensive cash crop agriculture. Finally, we foundthat the forest discontinuity index, mean woodlot area, and woodlot densitywerethe best indicators of the ongoing forest fragmentation process, but overallhuman population density is the most useful predictive variable.

Towards a strategy to implement the Canadian Wetland Inventory using satellite remote sensing

This review describes the context of the Canadian Wetland Inventory (CWI) and then defines the specifications, establishes the most appropriate dataset, and explores the options for its implementation. The CWI is based on the assumption that a consistent map for all areas of Canada using satellite imagery can be produced for a minimum mapping unit of 1 ha. The CWI will establish the state of land cover for wetlands around year 2000, and the CWI map will classify wetlands according to the following scheme defined in the Canadian Wetland Classification System: bog, fen, marsh, swamp, and shallow water. It will then be possible to roll the map up into simpler classes (i.e., upland, wetland, open waters, and coastal waters) compatible with other map products. A wide array of datasets is available, and their potential use in the context of the CWI is explored. The best options regarding the mapping method and the evaluation of the map products are both described, keeping in mind that the most suitable method must strike a balance between methodological advances and practical considerations. This review places the various limitations associated with the CWI in perspective and supports several of the CWI specifications; it should also facilitate selection of a strategy tailored to its implementation, in particular for the classification method and the evaluation of the map.

Landscape changes and ecological studies in agricultural regions, Quebec, Canada

Most landscape definitions in the western world are based on soil, climatic, or physiographic features and do not integrate humans as an integral part of the landscape. We present an approach where landscape types have been delineated in southern Québec, Canada based on current land use where anthropogenic and agricultural activities are concentrated as a practical application of the holistic approach in landscape definition. Landsat-TM satellite images were classified and the 27 habitat classes were regrouped into 5 general land cover classes (cash crop, dairy farming, forest, anthropogenic, wetlands) and overlaid onto soil landscape polygons to characterize natural boundary units. Cluster analyses were used to aggregate these polygons into seven agricultural types of land scape forming a gradient from urban and high-intensity cash crop farming activities to landscapes dominated by a mosaic of agriculture and forested areas. Multivariate analyses of raw data and of socio-economic and farming practices variables were used to describe the defined types of landscape and these were projected over three established land classification systems of southern Québec (Canadian ecoregions, North American Bird Conservation Initiative regions and Corn Heat Unit regions) to compare their similarity in terms of land cover and for planning of future ecological studies. Because agricultural landscapes are highly dynamic, they are bound to undergo changes in the near future. Our landscape delineation may serve as an experimental setup where land scape dynamics and wildlife populations and community structures could be monitored. Because the information we used to delineate and characterize agricultural landscape types is readily available in other countries, our approach could easily be adapted to similar data sources under and a wide variety of landscape types.

Object-based classification of a SPOT-4 image for mapping wetlands in the context of greenhouse gases emissions: the case of the Eastmain region, Québec, Canada

(Studies on greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by hydroelectric reservoirs have shown until now that the fate of carbon, following impoundment, seems to reach the fate of carbon in natural aquatic ecosystems after a decade or so. To adequately assess this assumption and then obtain the net GHG emissions from the Eastmain-1 hydroelectric reservoir, the carbon stock and GHG emissions from peatlands and different succession stages of forested areas need to be characterized prior to the reservoir impoundment. It is therefore important to characterize the carbon flow process (surface fluxes and sequestrated carbon) from these terrestrial systems prior to impoundment. The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada, Québec region, has developed an approach for mapping wetlands using Landsat/RADARSAT-1 satellite images. The method is based on image segmentation using the Definiens Professional software. The top-down object-based classification is based on the Canadian Wetland Classification System and quickly and precisely identifies ecologically meaningful wetland polygons. The main objective of this study is to produce a wetland map of the Eastmain River watershed using a SPOT-4 image aimed at identifying five classes of wetlands (bog, fen, marsh, swamp, shallow water) for a geographical unit of at least 1 ha, and to add to the peatland classes a description of their components, such as pool complexes and vegetation structures, to assign measured carbon values to these different peatland classes and scale up the data to obtain a regional carbon budget. The second objective of the study consists in determining whether SPOT-4 images can be used to map wetlands, using the object-based method developed with Landsat/RADARSAT-1 images, and if a finer spatial resolution would improve the wetland mapping results by adding information on wetland components. The SPOT-4 classification using the object-based method allowed the five main wetland classes to be identified in addition to pool complexes in three density classes (isolated, low density, and high density) and “bogs”/“fens” vegetation structure (treed or open) in peatland classes. Validation was done at two levels: (i) between the five classes of wetlands, and (ii) between pool complexes and vegetation structures. The overall accuracy was 81% for the first level and 75% for the second.

American Black Duck and Mallard Breeding Distribution and Habitat Relationships along a Forest-Agriculture Gradient in Southern Québec

Abstract Although the American black duck (Anas rubripes) has been designated a priority species in eastern North America, no systematic survey has been done in the agricultural lowlands of southern Québec, where the species is suspected to be relatively abundant and cohabits with the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), often considered as a competing species. During the spring of 1998 and 1999, we surveyed breeding waterfowl in 343 4-km2 plots distributed in the lowlands of the St. Lawrence Valley and Lac-Saint-Jean, Canada, and in agricultural areas of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada. American black duck densities were higher in dairy farm and forested landscapes (>39 indicated breeding pairs [IBPs]/100 km2) than in cropland landscapes (8 IBPs/100 km2). Mallard densities were similar across all landscape types (30–43 IBPs/100 km2). Habitat modeling using data derived from satellite imagery indicated that the presence of black ducks decreased with increasing areas of corn, ploughed fields, and deciduous forests, whereas it was favored in areas where topography was undulating with slopes of 10–15%. The same parameters had the opposite effect on mallard presence. The odds of black ducks being present were doubled where mallards were present, indicating that both species seem to be attracted to areas supporting adequate habitats, which contradicts the hypothesis of competition between these 2 species to explain for recent declines in the black duck population. Results of our habitat analyses support the hypothesis that habitat changes may be a primary factor leading to these declines. Dairy farm landscapes are of great importance for black ducks, and the conversion of this type of landscape toward a cropland landscape represents a threat to an important portion of the population of this species.

Using satellite imagery to assess breeding habitat availability of the endangered loggerhead shrike in Quebec

The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a grassland bird species whose preferred nesting habitat in eastern Canada is pastureland. This species has been extirpated from much of its historical range in this region, and breeding habitat loss is suspected to be an important cause of this decline. We evaluated the availability of suitable breeding habitats in Québec using satellite imagery. Because this species no longer breeds in Québec, we established habitat selection criteria from known nesting sites in the adjacent province of Ontario, from analysis of a Landsat-TM satellite image, and applied these criteria to Landsat-TM images covering southern Québec. We developed regional landscape criteria in 100 km2 plots and patch indices criteria at the pasture level. Spatial analyses were conducted to characterize plots and pastures on the basis of pasture availability and spatial distribution. Pastures suitable for nesting loggerhead shrikes were those fulfilling patch criteria at the pasture level and located in plots fulfilling regional landscape criteria. Overall, 310 out of 1700 plots located in the historical breeding range of the loggerhead shrike in Québec fulfilled landscape criteria, supporting 3988 pastures that fulfilled patch criteria. More than 500 of these pastures were visited to validate their current status. The Outaouais region would be the most suitable region for nesting loggerhead shrikes in southern Québec, where suitable breeding habitat still remains because more than two-thirds of visited sites were still pastureland, hawthorns were well-distributed in the region, and pastureland fragmentation was lowest. We conclude that the availability of breeding habitat does not limit the establishment of a breeding population of loggerhead shrike in southern Québec, as we estimated that thousands of hectares of suitable habitat still remain in that province.

The wetland conservation atlas of the St. Lawrence valley produced from decision tree classifications of RADARSAT and Landsat images

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Quebec region, has initiated a project oriented toward the production of a wetland atlas covering agricultural landscapes of the St. Lawrence Valley, Quebec. A classification method that integrates a series of RADARSAT ortho-images, Landsat Thematic Mapper-5 decorrelated images and digital elevation model has been developed. Several reference plots on wetlands were used to built the classification tree model. Classification accuracy was evaluated at 85% using 190 independent sites evenly distributed over the study area. The classification results, reported on a vector format, constitute the Welland Conservation Atlas designed to provide guidance to each regional county municipality in the production of their conservation action plans.