Landsat-based monitoring of landscape dynamics at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: 1990–2021
Kirschbaum AA . 2025. Landsat-based monitoring of landscape dynamics at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: 1990–2021. Science Report. NPS/SR—2025/320. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2313944
Landscape disturbances such as forest harvest, blowdowns, fire, and development activities create patches on the landscape that modify the structure and function of ecosystems and watersheds. Understanding the timing, location, size, and intensity of these disturbances can assist resource managers in making decisions regarding management options. To provide information regarding these metrics, the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network implemented a long-term monitoring project to quantify landscape dynamics inside and surrounding Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore using an automated, satellite-based change detection program called LandTrendr (Landsat-based detection of trends in disturbance and recovery). This is the second report for the park and differs slightly from the original report published in 2014 in terms of the time period analyzed, which increased by 26 years, from 2006–2011 (six years) to 1990–2021 (32 years). Results of this extended analysis showed that inside the park, the largest disturbance agent was blowdown which was an episodic event occurring in the late summer of 2016. There were also disturbances due to forest harvest, which in these cases were likely due to clearing trees for restoration activities. There were also instances of forest die-off due to forest pathogens, likely the result of emerald ash borer and/or beech bark disease. Lands outside the park experienced far greater levels of disturbance, with forest harvest being the most prevalent disturbance agent, affecting 4.96% of the land outside the park (298 ha annually). Outside the park, development was very prevalent, disturbing a total of 2.3% of the land (138 ha annually). Long-term monitoring of this analysis area will contribute to our understanding of how these disturbances may affect water quality, wildlife corridors, and pressures on the natural resources within the surrounding watersheds of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kirschbaum, Alan
- Date of Issue
- 2025-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2313944
- Units
- GLKN , NRSS , SLBE
- Keywords
- Land Use Monitor, Landsat, landscape disturbances, Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore