Greenness and actual evapotranspiration in the unrestored riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta in response to in-channel water deliveries in 2021 and 2022

Pamela L. Nagler; Ibrahima Sall; Martha Gomez-Sapiens; Armando Barreto-Muñoz; Christopher J. Jarchow; Karl W. Flessa; Kamel Didan

doi:10.3390/rs16101801

Greenness and actual evapotranspiration in the unrestored riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta in response to in-channel water deliveries in 2021 and 2022

Remote Sensing

By: Pamela L. Nagler, Ibrahima Sall, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Christopher J. Jarchow, Karl W. Flessa, and Kamel Didan

https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16101801

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Abstract

Natural resource managers may utilize remotely sensed data to monitor vegetation within their decision-making frameworks for improving habitats. Under binational agreements between the United States and Mexico, seven reaches were targeted for riparian habitat enhancement. Monitoring was carried out using Landsat 8 16-day intervals of the two-band enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2) for greenness and actual evapotranspiration (ETa). In-channel water was delivered in 2021 and 2022 at four places in Reach 4. Three reaches (Reaches 4, 5 and 7) showed no discernable difference in EVI2 from reaches that did not receive in-channel water (Reaches 1, 2, 3 and 6). EVI2 in 2021 was higher than 2020 in all reaches except Reach 3, and EVI2 in 2022 was lower than 2021 in all reaches except Reach 7. ET(EVI2) was higher in 2020 than in 2021 and 2022 in all seven reaches; it was highest in Reach 4 (containing restoration sites) in all years. Excluding restoration sites, compared with 2020, unrestored reaches showed that EVI2 minimally increased in 2021 and 2022, while ET(EVI2) minimally decreased despite added water in 2021–2022. Difference maps comparing 2020 (no-flow year) to 2021 and 2022 (in-channel flows) reveal areas in Reaches 5 and 7 where the in-channel flows increased greenness and ET(EVI2).

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Greenness and actual evapotranspiration in the unrestored riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta in response to in-channel water deliveries in 2021 and 2022
Series title	Remote Sensing
DOI	10.3390/rs16101801
Volume	16
Issue	10
Publication Date	May 18, 2024
Year Published	2024
Language	English
Publisher	MDPI
Contributing office(s)	Southwest Biological Science Center
Description	1801, 36 p.
Country	Mexico
Other Geospatial	Colorado River and Delta