Halina T. Kobryn

The remote Kimberley region in Western Australia presents a unique nature based tourism destination. One of the world’s last wildernesses, the Kimberley is one of the least-impacted marine environments in the world. Tourism in the region is growing rapidly, driven by stunning natural landscapes, unparalleled nature-based experiences and a vibrant Indigenous culture. Despite this, there has been virtually no research into how stakeholders value the Kimberley and spatially explicit investigations are lacking. State marine protected area planning, currently in a formative stage in the region, requires such spatially explicit social data to complement existing biophysical information. This paper reports on findings from a Public Participation GIS survey with 206 stakeholders undertaken in 2015 as part of a broader research project into socio-cultural values and management preferences for the Kimberley coast. Stakeholders’ spatially linked values were collected via an internet-based mapping survey for the purpose of supporting future planning and management in the region. Stakeholders mapped over 4,100 value locations, with values relating to scenery/aesthetics, recreational fishing, Aboriginal culture and nature-based tourism being most prominent. Analysis identified a clear spatial clustering of values across the region with a number of value ‘hotspots’ evident. Tourism planners and managers can analyse these hotspots to identify areas of potential congruence and conflict, thus assisting in retaining the qualities of the region that support ongoing tourism. By generating spatially explicit information on stakeholder values and areas of importance, this research makes an important contribution to tourism planning and management in the Kimberley.

Multispectral satellite data (WordView-2, IKONOS, QuickBird) are used to map bathymetry and spectral sea floor classes in a range of coastal areas. The standardized physics-based data processing integrates MODIS satellite data for the radiometric intercalibration and estimates of turbidity. This process includes corrections for sunglitter, the adjacency and the atmospheric effect. The water depth is calculated iteratively in combination with the spectral unmixing of the respective bottom reflectance on base of the subsurface reflectance. The final step of the processing classifies the bottom reflectance due to the spectral signature of different bottom types and biota using a specific cluster and classification approach. The comparison with in situ data at different sites worldwide proves the approach, but also emphasizes the necessity of radiometric well calibrated satellite data.

The symbiotic performance between legumes and rhizobia relies on the plant-bacteria genetic compatibility and on the symbiotic partner’s capacity to overcome environmental stresses. Symbiosis contributes nitrogen to the plants, which, among other things, increases the number of chloroplasts, and the number and size of cells per leaf. Hyperspectral imagery can detect vegetation changes combining information stored in the image. The symbiotic performance ¡s affected by some abiotic stress factors such as low clay content and low soil water holding capacity. These soil features can be estimated using ground penetrating radar (GPR), a geophysics instrument based on energy pulses interacting with soil layers. The aim of this work was to investigate whether integrated remote sensing techniques are able to estimate the interaction of field pea inoculated separately with five strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viceae with different nitrogen fixation effectiveness levels. The experiment was carried out firstly in a glasshouse to assess the pure symbiotic performance and then in an agricultural area to assess the interaction with abiotic factors. Hyperspectral images and GPR measurements were captured to cover the glasshouse and field site experiments. The plant sample analyses consisted of plant dry weight, nitrogen content and nodulation score. The plant samples showed significant differences in nitrogen levels, nodule score and dry weight across strains. The analyses of the spectral band combinations confirmed the presence of outstanding indices sensitive to the differential symbiotic performance and were correlated with plant analyses. The GPR data also revealed a mixed composition of soil properties associated with variable water availability that affected root and plant growth. It is concluded that remote sensing can be a valuable tool for estimating legume nitrogen fixation in fields, and GPR for estimating below ground properties that affect plant growth in field experiments.

Hyperspectral sensing allows us to view the earth not only in a few, but hundreds of different spectral channels over a wide wavelength range and to map the surface composition based on the spectral signatures observed. Applications range from mineral mapping to environmental monitoring, but aquatic spectral mapping has advanced steadily over the last few years as processing time and algorithms become faster and more efficient. The HyMap airborne spectrometer is an airborne remote sensing instrument collecting data in 126 spectral channels from the visible (VIS) to the shortwave infrared (SWIR) wavelength regions (0.45 to 2.5 um). In the past it has been seen by various scientists as not adequate to provide sufficient spectral information for aquatic applications. With a multitude of applications over the last few years however, it was demonstrated that the high signal to noise ratio allows for good spectral discrimination in the visible wavelength region and the added SWIR spectral modules allow for improved sun-glint removal techniques to be applied. Furthermore any floating substances can be better discriminated from suspended matter by having SWIR channels available. HyMap data was collected for two aquatic R&D projects in Western Australia: one over the Ningaloo Reef, near Yardie Creek, in N-WA and the other over Rottnest Island near Perth. Bathymetry calculations to 20m and seafloor mapping results are being presented, introducing new processing techniques - developed initially by DLR (Germany) – to Australian waters. These products allow seamless mosaicing of multiple flight lines and demonstrate a high level of accuracy compared to conventional mapping methods. Furthermore they provide 100 % coverage and results on a pixel by pixel base compared to interpolated results derived from line profiling methods.

The introduction of new, high resolution hyperspectral sensors has led to growing interest in the development of techniques to utilise data from these instruments for mapping the shallow marine environment. The increased spectral resolution of the hyperspectral sensors allows the use of the unique spectral signatures of the individual habitat components to identify these components within the image. Hyperspectral data also allows for the mapping of habitats in shallow areas that are inaccessible to other methods such as hydro-acoustic mapping. The coastal waters surrounding Rottnest Island, Western Australia, provide a unique opportunity to apply hyperspectral imaging techniques in a temperate environment because of the oligotrophic conditions maintained by the Leeuwin Current. The shallow marine benthic habitats of Rottnest Island Reserve have been mapped to a depth of ~15 m, using spectral signatures contained in a library created from in-situ measurements of the dominant habitat components. Three lines of HyMap hyperspectral data flown for the Rottnest Island Reserve in April 2004 were corrected for sunglint, atmospheric effects and the influence of the water column using the Modular Inversion and Processing System which requires no inputs from parameters measured in the field. A decision tree based classification scheme which utilises a range of spectral similarity measures was used to map the different habitat components identified in the bottom reflectance image and the results were validated in the field using SCUBA divers. The shallow subtidal habitats found around Rottnest Island are generally dominated by either bare sand, reef with large macroalgae, such as Ecklonia radiata and Sargas-sum spp., or a number of different seagrass species. These new hyperspectral imaging techniques provide a platform for the mapping of shallow marine benthic habitats over a broad area, at a scale that is relevant to marine planners and managers.

The oligotrophic coastal waters of Western Australia provide a unique opportunity to apply hyperspectral remote sensing techniques. This project aims to use HyMap images of Rottnest Island to create thematic classification maps of the marine benthic habitats for use as a planning tool by managers and planners. This involves building a spectral reflectance library of the dominant benthic substrates, creating a digital elevation model for the island and classifying the images. Preliminary results have revealed that dominant substrates are spectrally separable and that the Krigging interpolation algorithm results in the most accurate digital elevation model.