|
Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version. If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options. Real- or Near-Real Time Monitoring of Military Training Land Sustainability using Geospatial Techniques and Automated Sensor DeploymentsPublished by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org Citation: International Symposium on Erosion and Landscape Evolution (ISELE), 18-21 September 2011, Anchorage, Alaska 711P0311cd Paper #11109.(doi:10.13031/2013.39291)Authors: Stacy L Hutchinson, J.M Shawn Hutchinson, Philip B Woodford, Christopher Otto Keywords: Landscape management, Remote sensing, Vegetation analysis Military readiness depends on high quality training. High quality training depends on the availability of, and access to, quality training lands. The Integrated Training Area Management program (ITAM) is charged with developing and implementing management and decision-making processes that integrate training with sound natural resources management. At Fort Riley, assessments are made in four areas: training land vegetation condition, training area stability, training land safety and mobility, and Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance (LRAM) project monitoring. In the past, installation training land management decisions were informed through annual quality assessments developed by analyzing data collected from numerous plot and transect studies. Study designs depending upon traditional field methods are time intensive and expensive, and often do not provide results in a timely manner, leaving erosion problem areas unchecked for longer periods of time. By enhancing traditional field data collection methods with established remote sensing techniques and other automated sensor data, it is possible to provide leaders with a variety of assessments multiple times per year and when they are most useful. For example, because military maneuvers can cause extensive damage to vegetation across training areas throughout the calendar year and poor land cover can result in increased soil erosion, vegetation condition is assessed on a 16 day cycle using MODIS imagery. Additionally, areas of high erosion potential are identified using an overland flow energy accumulation model for optimized erosion control BMP placement. Raw data and processed information from the sensor network is accessible through a web portal. The portal represents a training land sustainability dashboard for decision makers while providing maps, interpreted information, and raw data feeds to technical users. The portal contains information such as current weather, current vegetation condition, mobility maps, and range usage data. Through continuous monitoring and assessment, and rapid data analysis, installations can better understand the environmental impact of training exercises and reduce safety risks to soldiers and equipment from environmental hazards. Project effectiveness is promoted by employing enterprise-friendly approaches for data processing, automated analysis, visualization, and reporting. (Download PDF) (Export to EndNotes)
|