Finding areas suitable for wetland fields in the ancient Maya landscapes of northwestern Belize using remote sensing, GIS, and field verifications

Keywords: area suitability, wetland, wetland fields, LiDAR, GIS, geographic information systems, ancient Maya, Rio Bravo, ArcGIS, Belize, Guatemala, Central America
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 27

Abstract

Analysis of lidar imagery is illuminating Central American landscapes as never before, showing massive ancient urban and agricultural complexes beneath forest canopies. But this research is a race against fast moving deforestation and drying conditions which are erasing evidence of human wetland interactions. Here we use remote sensing data with varying resolutions (50cm-20m) and field verifications to model the factors of ancient Maya wetland field area suitability across the Rio Bravo watershed. The aim is to use high-resolution data covering approximately 278 sq. km which we used to model wetland field area suitability across the remaining 2,330 sq. km of the larger Rio Bravo. The parameters used for wetland area suitability include modern topography, hydrology, vegetation cover, soil moisture, and ancient Maya architecture. For raster analysis, we use ArcGIS and fuzzy overlay to identify wetland fields and for visualization we use local dominance imaging techniques that highlight subtle positive relief features across the landscape. Our early results highlight the limitations of low-resolution remote sensing data, while also showing the strength of GIS in modeling wetland landscapes.