cwaldenschreiner/informalTrails

Vegetation trampling and prevalence of bare ground associated with visitor activity in protected natural areas is a common and perennial management concern. Such disturbance (e.g., patches or corridors of bare ground), influence the vegetation community structure, alter hydrology, and visually scar the landscape. Monitoring of such features can be time intensive, offering an opportunity to test data derived from remotely sensed imagery to expedite the process. This project uses aerial imagery to automate and extract linear and areal disturbances in open landscapes and compare to mapped GPS data.