A Cost-Effective Standardized Framework for Post-Restoration Monitoring Using Point Extractions of Remotely Sensed Spectral Indices

Funding disclosure: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star Urban Watershed

Abstract

Despite the urgency for ecological restoration initiatives declared by the United Nations, there is a lack of standardization in post-restoration monitoring. Constraints in funding and variability in site-to-site determination of restoration success are primary drivers behind the absence of a standardized assessment process. Remotely sensed spectral imagery has seen a growth in applications for restoration assessment but comes with its own challenges. Many open-source repositories often have an insufficient quantity of data and too coarse a resolution for restored sites, which are frequently on a smaller scale. Privatized repositories could address these issues by providing a higher quantity of high-resolution images, though often expensive. Free access to commercial repositories can often be requested, but even with heightened spatial and temporal resolution, the presence of mixed features within areas could skew analyses. Applying point extractions to spectral indices could combat this by focusing only on specific areas within the site and could be replicated across ecosystems. This process was tested on current cranberry bog wetland restoration efforts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assess current efforts. Using repeated measures, changes in NDWI and MSAVI index values extracted to points were tracked over time, heterogeneity of these indices was quantified, and changes within localized areas in site were determined.