Development and Implementation of Remote Sensing Techniques to Monitor Invasive Plant Species in the State of Idaho
Nancy
Glenn, Idaho State University, glennanc@isu.edu
(Presenting)
Jacob
Mundt, Ada County, jmundt@adaweb.net
Keith
Weber, Idaho State University, webekeit@isu.edu
Jeffrey
Pettingill, Bonneville County, JPettingill@co.bonneville.id.us
Jessica
Mitchell, Idaho State University, mitcjess@isu.edu
Invasive plant species pose a serious economic and environmental hazard. The economic impact to the U.S. alone is billions per year and this amount is increasing annually. Invasive species are difficult to identify and eradicate in remote areas, especially in rugged terrain such as the Intermountain West. Remote sensing of invasive species has the potential to provide land management an efficient and effective means to identify previously unknown locations of weed infestations and to control the spread of these infestations. A collaborative project between weed managers (county, state, and federal) and university researchers are studying remote sensing techniques for the detection of leafy spurge, hoary cress, and rush skeletonweed (all noxious weeds) in southern Idaho. Using hyperspectral imagery we were able to identify small infestations (down to individual species) which were then treated by land managers. We also determined detection thresholds and accuracy limits for each of the noxious weeds using hyperspecral imagery. Finally, we studied the repeatability of using hyperspectral imagery for long-term implementation and cost effectiveness. We are extending these results to test detection thresholds (spatial extent and percent cover of infestations) in multispectral (ASTER, Landsat) imagery. These results will be used to determine the effectiveness of previous management measures (e.g. spraying, sheep/goat grazing). Weed managers in southern Idaho will use this information for ranking of management activities and long-term planning for re-surveying lands with remote sensing data.