Leveraging AI and remote sensing for biodiversity benefits analysis
Project Overview
While traditional levees are placed directly next to a river, levee setbacks are placed further from the river, with space for a natural floodplain to form between the river and levee. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement opportunities are one of the major potential benefits of levee setback projects. However, biodiversity benefits are harder to quantify.
This project, funded by NASA’s Research Opportunities for Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) program, will generate predictive models that can anticipate the terrestrial habitat types that will develop on restored floodplains and the wildlife they can support. This will help the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other partners make more informed decisions and account for their contributions to regional biodiversity conservation in levee setback projects.

Meet the Team
The Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems is represented in this project by a mixed crew of ecologists and engineers, and is joined by Deepak Mishra, professor in UGA’s Geography department and Director of the UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory. The team also includes David Crane from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District, Mark Dixon, professor of biology at the University of South Dakota, and Robert Jacobson, professor at the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources.
This project is funded by NASA’s Research Opportunities for Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) program through their Ecological Conservation focus.


Seth Wenger, Ph.D.
Director of Science, River Basin Center & Associate Professor, Odum School of Ecology
swenger@uga.edu

Charles van Rees, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology
charles.vanrees@uga.edu

Matt Chambers, Ph.D.
Research Professional, College of Engineering
matt.chambers@uga.edu

Rabindra Parajuli, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Odum School of Ecology
rabindra.parajuli@uga.edu

Aurora Fowler
Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellow, IRIS
aurora.fowler@uga.edu
what we’re doing

The Challenge
Levee setback projects restore floodplains, potentially having large positive impacts on local biodiversity. However, levee setback projects cannot easily quantify or get credit for their contributions to biodiversity conservation.
This project addresses a critical need for NbS managers to better understand biodiversity and ecosystem services when making decisions. Failing to account for a project’s potential co-benefits means that it may be less likely to receive funding and be implemented. By evaluating how levee setbacks can change a landscape and thereby support biodiversity, along with other potential benefits of levee setbacks like flood control and improved water quality, stakeholders and managers can make more informed decisions about riverine infrastructure.
the goal
The project will utilize NASA satellite imagery, flood simulations and remote sensing technology. The research will also include gathering field data on frogs, bats, birds and vegetation using LiDAR, field surveys, and recording devices that detect bat echolocation and singing frogs and birds.
By combining all of this data, the team of ecologists, engineers and geographers aims to create predictive models of how habitat will change when a levee setback restores a floodplain. This will allow decision makers to evaluate how biodiversity and ecosystem services will be impacted by levee setback projects.
The team is working across multiple floodplains on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, from Sioux City, IA to Rulo, NE.

Additional Resources to Explore
University of Georgia River Basin Center
The Network for Engineering With Nature (N-EWN)
Learn about the NASA ROSES Program