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Wetland Moist Soil Seed Maps for the Central Valley of California 2007-2017

January 28, 2019

We produced a series of maps of moist soil seed plants within managed wetlands in the Central Valley of California from 2007-2011 & 2013-2017. Moist soil seed plants, such as swamp timothy (Crypsis schoenoides) and watergrass (Echinochloa crusgallim), are a critical food source for migratory birds. Vegetation maps were created by classifying Landsat imagery from 2007-2011 and 2013-2017. A support vector machine learning classifier was trained using phenology metrics of moist soil seed plants, emergent vegetation, water, and other land cover observed via field surveys and high resolution imagery. Productivity maps of swamp timothy were based on a regression model of seed head weight with Landsat vegetation indices. Estimates of watergrass productivity were based on green chlorophyll index values. The final maps show the distribution, extent and productivity of moist soil seed plants within managed wetlands in the Central Valley of California.

Publication Year 2019
Title Wetland Moist Soil Seed Maps for the Central Valley of California 2007-2017
DOI 10.5066/P9PMO9Q2
Authors Austen A Lorenz, Kristin B Byrd
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Western Geographic Science Center - Main Office