The changing face of floodplains in the Mississippi River Basin detected by a 60-year land use change dataset

Adnan Rajib,Fernando Nardi,Jay R Christensen,Heather E Golden,Qianjin Zheng,Charles R Lane,Qiusheng Wu,Ryan R Morrison,Antonio Annis

doi:10.1038/s41597-021-01048-w

Abstract

Floodplains provide essential ecosystem functions, yet >80% of European and North American floodplains are substantially modified. Despite floodplain changes over the past century, comprehensive, long-term land use change data within large river basin floodplains are limited. Long-term land use data can be used to quantify floodplain functions and provide spatially explicit information for management, restoration, and flood-risk mitigation. We present a comprehensive dataset quantifying floodplain land use change along the 3.3 million km2 Mississippi River Basin (MRB) covering 60 years (1941–2000) at 250-m resolution. We developed four unique products as part of this work, a(n): (i) Google Earth Engine interactive map visualization interface, (ii) Python code that runs in any internet browser, (iii) online tutorial with visualizations facilitating classroom code application, and (iv) instructional video demonstrating code application and database reproduction. Our data show that MRB’s natural floodplain ecosystems have been substantially altered to agricultural and developed land uses. These products will support MRB resilience and sustainability goals by advancing data-driven decision making on floodplain restoration, buyout, and conservation scenarios.

Highlights

Background & SummaryRiverine floodplains are vital and productive ecosystems that provide essential biological, geomorphic, and hydrologic functions[1,2]
To maximize the reuse of this dataset, we include four unique products: (i) a Google Earth Engine interactive interface mapping Mississippi River Basin (MRB) floodplain land use change over 60 years, (ii) a Google-based Python code that runs in any internet browser, (iii) an online tutorial with visualizations facilitating classroom application of the code, and (iv) an instructional video showing how to run the code and partially reproduce the dataset
We derived the 60-year MRB floodplain land use change dataset from two input data sources: (i) the high-resolution global floodplain extent dataset GFPLAIN250m developed by Nardi et al.[27], and (ii) the annual continental United States land use data developed by USGS28,29

Summary

Background & Summary

Riverine floodplains are vital and productive ecosystems that provide essential biological, geomorphic, and hydrologic functions[1,2]. Flood-risk management efforts of the previous century have focused on minimizing flood impacts on humans through large and expensive infrastructure projects[12] at the expense of floodplain ecosystem health and resilience. The basin represents one of the most engineered systems in the world, and includes a complex web of dams, levees, floodplains, and dikes This new dataset reveals the heterogenous spatial extent of land use transitions in MRB floodplains. A recent strategic plan of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration partnership, representing 0.5 million km[2] of the MRB, envisions “a healthier and more resilient Upper Mississippi River ecosystem that sustains the river’s multiple use”[26] This data will help achieve these goals by providing foundational information for data-driven decision making on floodplain restoration, buyouts, and conservation. The data and associated materials can be the template for developing similar datasets for other river basins across the globe

Methods

11 ValidationResults

Findings

Code availability