Abstract
Wetland loss and subsequent reduction of wetland ecosystem services in the Great Lakes region has been driven, in part, by changing landcover and increasing urbanization. With landcover change data, digital elevation models (DEM), and self-organizing maps (SOM), this study explores changing landcover and the flood mitigation attributes of wetland areas over a 15-year period in Toronto and Chicago. The results of this analysis show that (1) in the city of Toronto SOM clusters, the landcover change correlations with wetland volume and wetland area range between −0.1 to −0.5, indicating that a more intense landcover change tends to be correlated with small shallow wetlands, (2) in the city of Chicago SOM clusters, the landcover change correlations with wetland area range between −0.1 to −0.7, the landcover change correlations with wetland volume per area range between −0.1 to 0.8, and the landcover change correlations with elevation range between −0.2 to −0.6, indicating that more intense landcover change tends to be correlated with spatially small wetlands that have a relatively high water-storage capacity per area and are located at lower elevations. In both cities, the smallest SOM clusters represent wetland areas where increased landcover change is correlated with wetland areas that have high flood mitigation potential. This study aims to offer a new perspective on changing urban landscapes and urban wetland ecosystem services in Toronto and Chicago.
Highlights
IntroductionLaurentian Great Lake wetlands provide several vital ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, water filtration, sediment retention, carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, and flood mitigation [1,2]
Results allow for insight to where more intensive landcover change is correlated with wetland areas capable land area and wetland volume
The analysis for the city of Chicago has illustrated that the wetland areas in cluster 3 and cluster 4 are locations where more intensive landcover change is correlated with wetland areas that have high flood mitigation potential
Summary
Laurentian Great Lake wetlands provide several vital ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, water filtration, sediment retention, carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, and flood mitigation [1,2]. Both riparian and inland wetlands are able to mitigate the impacts of flooding events through water storage (riparian wetlands) and peak flow attenuation (inland wetlands) [3,4]. Degradation, and fragmentation is widespread throughout North America and is, in part, cause by land conversion, urban development, and transportation [5]. As wetland areas are lost or converted via urban development, and population density increases, the per capita value of wetland ecosystem services will often rise, and the ecosystem services that wetlands offer are challenging and sometimes impossible to fully replace or replicate once wetlands have been lost [6]
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