Combining ALOS/PALSAR Derived Vegetation Structure and Inundation Patterns to Characterize Major Vegetation Types in the Mamiraúa Sustainable Development Reserve, Central Amazon Floodplain, Brazil

Oct 13, 2026

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Remote sensing research on Amazonian wetlands has often been constrained in temporal or spatial coverage, leaving the distribution and spatial configuration of várzea habitats insufficiently resolved. This study integrates multitemporal PALSAR L-band radar data with object-based image analysis, data mining methods, and field observations to map vegetation structure and inundation patterns across várzea forests in the Mamiraúa Sustainable Development Reserve. Results indicate that vegetation cover combined with inundation extent helps characterize habitat gradients along the floodplain, with vegetation–flood-duration intersections revealing broader patterns than field-only studies.

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Wetlands Ecol Manage DOI 10.1007/s11273-014-9359-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Combining ALOS/PALSAR derived vegetation structure and inundation patterns to characterize major vegetation types in the Mamirau´a Sustainable Development Reserve, Central Amazon ﬂoodplain, Brazil Jefferson Ferreira-Ferreira • Thiago Sanna Freire Silva • Annia Susin Streher • Adriana Gomes Affonso • Luiz Felipe de Almeida Furtado • Bruce Rider Forsberg • Jo˜ao Valsecchi • Helder Lima Queiroz • Evlyn M´arcia Le˜ao de Moraes Novo Received: 2 November 2013 / Accepted: 24 May 2014 􀀂 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract Remote sensing studies of vegetation cover and hydrologic dynamics in Amazonian wetlands have been mostly limited temporally or spatially, and the distribution and spatial conﬁguration of Amazonian v´arzea habitats remains poorly known. This study uses multitemporal PALSAR L-band radar imagery combined with object-based image analysis, data mining techniques and ﬁeld data to derive vegetation structure and inundation patterns and characterize major vegetation types in v´arzea forests of the Mamirau´a Sustainable Development Reserve. Our results show that the combination of vegetation cover and inundation extent information can be a good indicator of the complex gradient of habitats along the ﬂoodplain. The intersection between vegetation and ﬂood duration classes showed a wider range of Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11273-014-9359-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. J. Ferreira-Ferreira (&) 􀀂 A. S. Streher 􀀂 J. Valsecchi 􀀂 H. L. Queiroz Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustent´avel Mamirau´a, Estrada do Bexiga, 2584, Bairro Fonte Boa, Tef´e, AM 69470-000, Brazil e-mail: [jefferson.ferreira@mamiraua.org.br](jefferson.ferreira@mamiraua.org.br) T. S. F. Silva Departamento de Geograﬁa, Instituto de Geociˆencias e Ciˆencias Exatas de Rio Claro, UNESP-Universidade Estadual Paulista J´ulio de Mesquita Filho, Avenida 24-A, 1515-Jardim Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP 13506-900, Brazil combinations than suggested from ﬁeld based studies. Chavascal areas—chacaracterized as a dense and species-poor shrub/tree community developing in old depressions, abandoned channels, and shallow lakes—had shorter inundation periods than the usually recognized hydroperiod of 180–240 days of ﬂooding, while low v´arzea—a diverse community that have fewest and smallest species, and highest individual density and that tolerate 120–180 days of ﬂooding every year—was distributed between ﬂood duration ranges that were higher than reported by the literature. Forest communities growing at sites that were never mapped as ﬂooded could indicate areas that only ﬂood during extreme hydrological events, for short periods of time. Our results emphasize the potential contribution of SAR remote sensing to the monitoring and management of wetland environments, providing not only accurate information on spatial landscape conﬁguration and vegetation distribution, but also A. G. Affonso 􀀂 L. F. de Almeida Furtado 􀀂 E. M. L. M. Novo Divis˜ao de Sensoriamento Remoto, Coordena˜ao Geral de Observa˜ao da Terra, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Avenida dos Astrounautas, 1758, Caixa Postal, 515-Jardim da Granja, S˜ao Jos´e dos Campos, SP 12200-243, Brazil B. R. Forsberg Coordena˜ao de Dinˆamica Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazˆonia, Avenida Andr´e Ara´ujo, 2936 – Aleixo, Manaus, AM 69060-000, Brazil 1 3 important insights on the ecohydrological processes that ultimately determine the distribution of complex ﬂoodplain habitat mosaics. Keywords Wetlands 􀀂 Amazonian v´arzeas 􀀂 Synthetic aperture radar 􀀂 Object-oriented image analysis 􀀂 Random forests 􀀂 Management 􀀂 Conservation Introduction The Amazonian v´arzea comprises the ﬂoodplains inﬂuenced by the sediment-rich white-water rivers of the Amazon basin (Sioli 1954; Prance 1979;

FAQs

What data sources does the study use to characterize vegetation types in várzea forests?

The study combines multitemporal PALSAR L-band radar imagery with object-based image analysis, data mining techniques, and field data to derive vegetation structure and inundation patterns.

How do the results link vegetation cover and inundation to habitat gradients?

They show that combining vegetation cover with inundation extent serves as an effective indicator of the complex habitat gradient along the floodplain.

What do the vegetation–flood duration comparisons suggest compared with field-based studies?

The intersection between vegetation and flood duration classes shows a wider range of combinations than indicated by field-based studies.

Oct 13, 2026

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