Landsat mapping of annual inundation (1979–2006) of the Macquarie Marshes in semi-arid Australia

Abstract

Abstract Measuring inundation over long timeframes is essential for understanding the responses of large floodplain wetlands on regulated rivers, such as the internationally Ramsar listed Macquarie Marshes (2000 km2) in central-eastern Australia. We used near-spring Landsat images (Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery) over 28 years (1979–2006) and classified for inundation, integrating water and vegetation response using Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis (ISODATA) clustering. A spatially explicit inundation index showed that zones inundated with high frequency were mostly in the northern region. Change detection of inundation indices over three consecutive water management periods (period 1 (1979–1987), period 2 (1988–1996) and period 3 (1997–2006)) showed that zones inundated with high frequency across the Macquarie Marshes contracted, equating to the loss of three or more spring floods from each 9-year period, despite no corresponding change in annual catchment or local rainfall. Landsat represents the only effective available long-term information for analysing long-term changes in inundation patterns of floodplain wetlands. Acknowledgements We thank Bill Johnson for sharing his knowledge of the Macquarie Marshes and acknowledge the contribution of Ray Jones (DECCW) and the Macquarie Marshes landholders, Sue Jones, Eric Fisher, Peter McLellan and Richard McConochie, for assessing historical flooding. Kate Brandis (UNSW) digitized the 1955 flood boundary. Dr Neil Sims (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) made some useful comments on an earlier version of this article. Steve Cox helped to prepare some of the figures. This project was supported financially by the New South Wales DECCW and the Australian Government's Water for the Future plan under the NSW Wetland Recovery Program.