San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge Texas: Using drone acquired 2019 imagery to classify sudden dieback vegetation in Coastal TX wetlands

Climatic extremes are becoming more frequent with climate change and have the potential to cause major ecological shifts and ecosystem collapse. With the ecosystem collapse these normally healthy marshes fragment and convert to open water. Along the northern Gulf of Mexico, a coastal wetland in the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Texas suffered significant and acute vegetation dieback following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Using Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) we acquired high resolution imagery to identify plant types that may correlate with elevation levels. Most plant species will fall into the succulents, graminoids, and Spartina alterniflora marsh types. These degraded marsh areas are classified into 5 categories: Dead Spartina (Stubble), Distichlis, Open Water, Spartina, and Succulents.