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The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Coastal Vegetation of the Weeks Bay Reserve, Alabama from NDVI Data

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Abstract

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data were used to investigate vegetation changes after Hurricane Katrina (2005) for the Weeks Bay Reserve and surrounding area of coastal AL. Landsat 5 satellite images were acquired before landfall (March 24, 2005), after landfall (September 16, 2005), and 8 months after landfall (April 28, 2006). The March 2005 to September 2005 image comparison showed that average NDVI values decreased by 49% after landfall. Continuing into the next year, average NDVI values were −44% lower in April 2006 than they were in March 2005. Among habitat types, the estuarine emergent wetland experienced the largest average NDVI value decrease (−64%). The estuarine emergent wetland NDVI values continued to decrease by −27% from September 2005 to April 2006, whereas other habitats increased in NDVI. This continued suppression of NDVI values was attributed to increased salinity from the storm surge and to regional drought conditions that occurred after landfall. These results provide insight into the sensitivity of coastal vegetation from the interactions of both tropical cyclones and long-term environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by NOAA through the NERR Graduate Research Fellowship. The authors wish to acknowledge the Weeks Bay Reserve Research Coordinator Scott Phipps. Dr. Phipps’s help and knowledge of the area were extremely helpful, especially with the interpretation of the results. The authors also wish to thank the Weeks Bay Reserve for providing lodging and logistical support. The authors are indebted to John Cartwright for his help with the development of the research objective and for his help with the remote sensing methodology. Thanks go to Kate Grala for her editorial assistance. The authors wish to thank the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University for financially supporting this research. Lastly, the authors are indebted to Mississippi state climatologist Dr. Charles Wax for his help with the climate data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 5448, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    John C. Rodgers III & William H. Cooke

  2. Applied Geo Technologies, Building 1100, Code RAO2, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, MS, 39529, USA

    Adam W. Murrah

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  1. John C. Rodgers III
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  2. Adam W. Murrah
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  3. William H. Cooke
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Correspondence to John C. Rodgers III.

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Rodgers, J.C., Murrah, A.W. & Cooke, W.H. The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Coastal Vegetation of the Weeks Bay Reserve, Alabama from NDVI Data. Estuaries and Coasts 32, 496–507 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9138-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9138-z

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