About this Course
Protecting and sustaining wetland functions at the site scale requires an understanding of ecological processes at the landscape scale. The focus of this course will be on the physical processes that drive most of the biological functions found in streams and wetlands, primarily the delivery, movement, storage and loss of water.
In the first part of the course, we’ll examine how the spatial arrangement of landscape components, such as precipitation, geology, soils, storage, land cover and topography, governs the location, structure and function of wetlands. We’ll explore how changes to these landscape components can impact wetland and stream ecosystems at the site or reach scale.
In the latter part of the course, you’ll learn how GIS tools and assessment models can be used at multiple scales to characterize watersheds and how the results can be applied to local planning and permitting.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- An integrated watershed approach to wetland assessment using data and analysis at multiple spatial scales
- How physical processes at the landscape scale drive the structure and function of wetlands at the site scale, and how humans impact these processes
- How a wetland practitioner uses geospatial tools (GIS, GPS and remote sensing) to analyze landscape patterns and present data
- How to use GIS to characterize and assess watershed health, predict future development impacts, and identify solutions to protect and sustain ecosystem processes