ABSTRACT

Wetlands proportionally exert a higher inuence on biogeochemical uxes among land, atmosphere, and hydrologic systems than their 1% worldwide occurrence (Sahagian and Melack 1996). Although their frequency of occurrence is low and their importance high, wetlands continue to face high detrimental pressures from natural and human-induced forces (Ramsey 1998). For proper resource management and to provide for mitigation of degradation before irreversible change, a regional, synoptic, detailed, and timely wetland resource monitoring system is needed. Remote sensing offers the single best source of timely, synoptic wetland status and trends information at a variety of spatial and temporal scales (Wickland 1991).