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A multi-scale comparison of elevation measurement methods in northeastern tidal marshes of the United States

  • Applied Wetland Science
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Abstract

Coastal ecosystems are at risk across the globe due to combined effects of sea-level rise and human development. This threat is prevalent in the northeastern USA, where sea levels increase 2-6 mm annually. Much of this coastline is buffered by tidal marsh, directly linking monitoring of this ecosystem to effective coastal management into the future. We estimated local and regional elevations of tidal marshes from Maine to Virginia using real-time kinematic (RTK) technology, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology, and regional datasets from the National Elevation Dataset (NED) to evaluate elevation monitoring methods for coastal marshes. Locally we found that RTK-sourced elevation measurements are predicted well using the 1/9 arc-second NED layer, however UAS-derived DSMs did not predict RTK values well. Regionally we found the 1/9 arc-second NED explained 90% of the variation in RTK measurements, and this relationship was strongest in high marsh and terrestrial border across spatial scales. Additionally, we found that elevation increases from south to north in the majority of marsh cover types, indicating that continent-scale mechanisms may determine elevation relative to mean sea level. We suggest further work using UAS-sourced Digital Terrain Models and the NED as an economical substitute for RTK in higher-elevation cover types.

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Acknowledgements

This work was made possible through financial support from the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Northeast Region Science Applications (#24), and the United States Department of Agriculture (National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Project Number ME0-21710). This is Maine State Agricultural Experimentation Publication # ME0-21710. We would like to thank all Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP) field technicians who collected field training data for this effort, and all participating landowners that allowed access to their properties for surveying. Comments from D. Rosco, N. Hanson, and the Olsen Lab substantially improved the methods described here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Maureen D. Correll, Wouter Hantson, Brittany B. Cline & Brian J. Olsen

  2. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA

    Maureen D. Correll

  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Conservation and Biodiversity, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Chris S. Elphick

  4. Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Brittany B. Cline, Elizabeth L. Tymkiw & W. Gregory Shriver

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  1. Maureen D. Correll
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  2. Chris S. Elphick
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  5. Elizabeth L. Tymkiw
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  6. W. Gregory Shriver
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  7. Brian J. Olsen
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Correspondence to Maureen D. Correll.

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Correll, M.D., Elphick, C.S., Hantson, W. et al. A multi-scale comparison of elevation measurement methods in northeastern tidal marshes of the United States. Wetlands 39, 633–643 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-018-1110-x

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