Monitoring and analyzing the dynamics of Zizania floating mats with PlanetScope imagery and Google Earth Engine

Zizania latifolia has been observed to generate floating mats due to water level fluctuations and wind-waves, leading to significant detrimental impacts on both water quality and biodiversity. The key to controlling and monitoring the spread and movement of Zizania floating is the early detection of outbreaks and the clarification of its formation mechanisms in response to water levels and wind actions. The temporal and spatial resolutions of conventional remote sensing monitoring methods are challenging to satisfy the requirements for continuous and accurate tracking of Zizania floating, which undergoes daily movement. This study develops a timely and accurate monitoring method for Zizania floating by calculating the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from high spatiotemporal resolution PlanetScope (PS) imagery and building a decision tree on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Taking the Zizania floating outbreak in Honghu Wetland as the subject of our study, we extracted the continuous movement trajectories of Zizania floating from May to September 2019. Subsequently, we analyzed the interrelationship between the formation of Zizania floating and hydrometeorological factors. We then investigated the effects of Zizania floating on water quality and biodiversity. The results show that: (1) The integration of PS imagery and the GEE platform holds the potential to simplify the workload of remote sensing data processing. Based on the difference in NDVI between water bodies and Zizania floating, the dynamic expansion and reduction areas of the Zizania floating were successfully extracted by setting the threshold at 0.3, enabling timely and accurate tracking. (2) Abrupt fluctuations in water levels during brief time intervals serve as the primary trigger for Zizania floating. Additionally, wind speed during the same timeframe acts as a catalyst for the emergence of Zizania floating, with wind direction influencing its movement. (3) The outbreak of Zizania floating significantly elevates the concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), chemical oxygen demand (CODmn), and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), while concurrently reducing the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in water bodies. The prolonged presence and movement of Zizania floating has reduced the biodiversity of the wetland ecosystem. Zizania floating mats present unique challenges due to their unpredictability, complicating the monitoring and tracking processes. It is necessary to develop a prompt, accurate, and cost-effective detection program for Zizania floating to reduce the risk it poses to wetland ecosystems.