부산대학교 도서관

Context: Ground truthing remotely sensed imagery for detecting changes in wetland vegetation can be time-consuming and costly for monitoring. Harnessing the resources of citizen scientists (CS) using mobile devices has been under utilised in Australia. Aims: The project aimed to test the feasibility and practicality of using CS to collect data using mobile devices to ground truth remotely sensed imagery. Methods: Using high-resolution aerial imagery, we detected the establishment of woody vegetation over a 20-year dry phase from 2000 to 2020 in Thirlmere Lakes National Park, NSW, Australia. To ground truth these woody species, we engaged with a local community group using a customised, freely available mobile device application. Key results: During the dry event of 2020, CS documented well-established woody species, such as Melaleuca linariifolia (flax-leaved paperbark), amongst the Lepironia articulata grey rush. With the La Niña wet events in early 2020-22 and subsequent higher water levels, the CS documented the survival of M. linariifolia but the dieback of eucalypts, and other woody species. Conclusions: Observations at higher temporal frequencies by CS using mobile devices, augmented with researchers' observations, proved to be a valuable, quality-controlled method to ground truth high-resolution aerial imagery. Implications. This case study showed that monitoring the phenology of vegetation in a peat wetland can be supplemented by the inclusion of a CS programme. This under-utilised resource can increase coverage and frequency of data observations, lower costs as well as create community awareness, capability and engagement in scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]