Multi-decadal floodplain classification and trend analysis in the Upper Columbia River valley, British Columbia

Abstract

Floodplain wetland ecosystems experience significant seasonal water fluctuation over the year, resulting in a dynamic hydroperiod, with a range of vegetation community responses. This paper assesses trends and changes in land cover and hydroclimatological variables, including air temperature, river discharge, and water level in the Upper Columbia River Wetlands (UCRW), British Columbia, Canada. A land cover classification time series from 1984 to 2022 was generated from the Landsat image archive using a random forest algorithm. Peak river flow timing, duration, and anomalies were examined to evaluate temporal coincidence with observed land cover trends. The land cover classifier used to segment changes in wetland area and open water performed well (kappa of 0.82). Over the last 4 decades, observed river discharge and air temperature have increased, precipitation has decreased, the timing of peak flow is earlier, and the flow duration has been reduced. The frequency of both high-discharge events and dry years have increased, indicating a shift towards more extreme floodplain flow behavior. These hydrometeorological changes are associated with a shift in the timing of snowmelt, from April to mid-May, and with seasonal changes in the vegetative communities over the 39-year period. Thus, woody shrubs (+6 % to +12 %) have expanded as they gradually replaced marsh and wet-meadow land covers with a reduction in open-water area. This suggests that increasing temperatures have already impacted the regional hydrology, wetland hydroperiod, and floodplain land cover in the Upper Columbia River valley. Overall, there is substantial variation in seasonal and annual land cover, reflecting the dynamic nature of floodplain wetlands, but the results show that the wetlands are drying out with increasing areas of woody/shrub habitat and loss of aquatic habitat. The results suggest that floodplain wetlands, particularly marsh and open-water habitats, are vulnerable to climatic and hydrological changes that could further reduce their areal extent in the future.