Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation

The increasing occurrence of extreme weather events has a far reaching impact on all types of ecosystems. This includes submerged ecosystems, where floods and droughts influence the flora and fauna. Monitoring such submerged landscapes and their aquatic vegetation has gained interest in recent decad...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J. Rhomberg-Kauert, L. Dammert, M. Grömer, M. Pfennigbauer, G. Mandlburger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-07-01
Series:The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
Online Access:https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-2-W10-2025/239/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-239-2025.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850083509136261120
author J. Rhomberg-Kauert
L. Dammert
M. Grömer
M. Pfennigbauer
G. Mandlburger
author_facet J. Rhomberg-Kauert
L. Dammert
M. Grömer
M. Pfennigbauer
G. Mandlburger
author_sort J. Rhomberg-Kauert
collection DOAJ
description The increasing occurrence of extreme weather events has a far reaching impact on all types of ecosystems. This includes submerged ecosystems, where floods and droughts influence the flora and fauna. Monitoring such submerged landscapes and their aquatic vegetation has gained interest in recent decades, and advances in remote sensing technology allow detailed mapping of those ecosystems. There, changes in vegetation extent throughout such extreme weather events remain insufficiently quantified, as comprehensive data sets before and after extreme weather events are rarely obtained. Thus, this study presents an extensive case study for a vegetated pond in Lower Austria, which was subjected to major flooding during the September 2024 flood in Austria. The presented data set includes aerial imaging and bathymetric LiDAR data for six epochs over three years, four before the flood and two after. This study presents the near-extinction of the submerged vegetation after the flood event and puts the results into perspective with the seasonal changes before the flood. For the three half-year periods before the flood event, the height of the vegetation shows a median fluctuation between −0.3 m to 1 m over the pond, while the change in vegetation height after the flood event has a median value of approximately −2.9 m. Although the seasonal changes are in alignment with the expected values, based on current research regarding the type of macrophytes present in the study area, the post-flood changes present a significant decrease in the overall vegetation. This, along with changes in turbidity, indicates a long-term impact on the pond and outlines the impact of extreme weather events on aquatic ecosystems. In general, the case study presents insights into rarely documented changes due to extreme weather events and provides a remote sensing approach to quantify changes in aquatic landscapes.
format Article
id doaj-art-ee1d28ecdf734cebbae290648d8668b5
institution DOAJ
issn 1682-1750
2194-9034
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Copernicus Publications
record_format Article
series The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
spelling doaj-art-ee1d28ecdf734cebbae290648d8668b52025-08-20T02:44:16ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences1682-17502194-90342025-07-01XLVIII-2-W10-202523924610.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-239-2025Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetationJ. Rhomberg-Kauert0L. Dammert1M. Grömer2M. Pfennigbauer3G. Mandlburger4Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien; 1040 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien; 1040 Vienna, AustriaVERBUND Hydro Power GmbH; 1150 Wien, AustriaRIEGL Research and Defense GmbH; 3480 Horn, AustriaDepartment of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien; 1040 Vienna, AustriaThe increasing occurrence of extreme weather events has a far reaching impact on all types of ecosystems. This includes submerged ecosystems, where floods and droughts influence the flora and fauna. Monitoring such submerged landscapes and their aquatic vegetation has gained interest in recent decades, and advances in remote sensing technology allow detailed mapping of those ecosystems. There, changes in vegetation extent throughout such extreme weather events remain insufficiently quantified, as comprehensive data sets before and after extreme weather events are rarely obtained. Thus, this study presents an extensive case study for a vegetated pond in Lower Austria, which was subjected to major flooding during the September 2024 flood in Austria. The presented data set includes aerial imaging and bathymetric LiDAR data for six epochs over three years, four before the flood and two after. This study presents the near-extinction of the submerged vegetation after the flood event and puts the results into perspective with the seasonal changes before the flood. For the three half-year periods before the flood event, the height of the vegetation shows a median fluctuation between −0.3 m to 1 m over the pond, while the change in vegetation height after the flood event has a median value of approximately −2.9 m. Although the seasonal changes are in alignment with the expected values, based on current research regarding the type of macrophytes present in the study area, the post-flood changes present a significant decrease in the overall vegetation. This, along with changes in turbidity, indicates a long-term impact on the pond and outlines the impact of extreme weather events on aquatic ecosystems. In general, the case study presents insights into rarely documented changes due to extreme weather events and provides a remote sensing approach to quantify changes in aquatic landscapes.https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-2-W10-2025/239/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-239-2025.pdf
spellingShingle J. Rhomberg-Kauert
L. Dammert
M. Grömer
M. Pfennigbauer
G. Mandlburger
Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
title Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
title_full Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
title_fullStr Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
title_full_unstemmed Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
title_short Optical hydrography for seasonal and flood-induced changes in aquatic vegetation
title_sort optical hydrography for seasonal and flood induced changes in aquatic vegetation
url https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-2-W10-2025/239/2025/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W10-2025-239-2025.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT jrhombergkauert opticalhydrographyforseasonalandfloodinducedchangesinaquaticvegetation
AT ldammert opticalhydrographyforseasonalandfloodinducedchangesinaquaticvegetation
AT mgromer opticalhydrographyforseasonalandfloodinducedchangesinaquaticvegetation
AT mpfennigbauer opticalhydrographyforseasonalandfloodinducedchangesinaquaticvegetation
AT gmandlburger opticalhydrographyforseasonalandfloodinducedchangesinaquaticvegetation