Greenup and evapotranspiration following the Minute 319 pulse flow to Mexico: An analysis using Landsat 8 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data

In the southwestern U.S., many riparian ecosystems have been altered by dams, water diversions, and other anthropogenic activities. This is particularly true of the Colorado River, where numerous dams and agricultural diversions have affected this water course, especially south of the U.S.–Mexico bo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological engineering 2017-09, Vol.106, p.776-783
Main Authors: Jarchow, Christopher J., Nagler, Pamela L., Glenn, Edward P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
Colorado River Delta
Dams
Ecosystems
Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET)
Greening
Groundwater
Human influences
Landsat
Landsat 8
Landsat satellites
Measuring instruments
Minute 319
NDVI
Normalized difference vegetative index
Plant communities
Plant populations
Pulse flow
Remote sensing
Replenishment
Restoration
Riparian environments
Riparian land
Riparian zone
Rivers
Stream flow
Studies
Vegetation
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Summary:In the southwestern U.S., many riparian ecosystems have been altered by dams, water diversions, and other anthropogenic activities. This is particularly true of the Colorado River, where numerous dams and agricultural diversions have affected this water course, especially south of the U.S.–Mexico border. In the spring of 2014, 130 million cubic meters of water was released to the lower Colorado River Delta in Mexico. To understand the impact of this pulse flow release on vegetation in the delta’s riparian corridor, we analyzed a modified form of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI*) data. We assessed greenup during the growing period and estimated actual evapotranspiration (ETa) for the period prior to (yr. 2013) and following (i.e., yr. 2014 and 2015) the pulse flow. We found a significant increase in NDVI* from 2013 to 2014 (P
ISSN:0925-8574
1872-6992
DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.08.007