The Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Flooding in the Lower Russian River Watershed, CA from 1992 to 2017 — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
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A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

The Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Flooding in the Lower Russian River Watershed, CA from 1992 to 2017

Name: Aric Lang
Major: Geospatial Science; Environmental Science
Hometown: Rohnert Park, CA
Faculty Sponsor: Wenjie Sun
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Changes in land use and land cover are inevitable results of societal development, and they have various impacts on the local environment. This study focused specifically on how land use and land cover change in the Lower Russian River watershed (Sonoma County, CA) impacted the severity of flooding on the Russian River between 1992 and 2017. Through the classification of Landsat satellite imagery, the change in land cover was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.1) for the change in both natural and human-impacted land cover, as well as for three of the five specific land cover classes. It was found that in this case, an increase in cultivated land, forested land, and the broader category of human-impacted land cover (including developed and cultivated land) all resulted in an increase in flood severity, while an increase in shrubland and the broader category of natural land cover both resulted in a decrease in flood severity. Increases in herbaceous land were found to decrease flood severity, while increases in developed land were found to increase flood severity, but with a lower statistical significance. These findings, paired with other studies of hydrology and land use/land cover can allow for better informed decision making when it comes to changing the natural landscape, for example, city zoning.

Poster file