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COURSE INFO PROVIDER: SWSPCP Webinar
COURSE TITLE: Hydroecological monitoring of high elevation wetlands in Bolivia

INSTRUCTORS Bart Wickel, PhD
Jeanne Fernandez, MSc

COURSE DESCRIPTION Hydroecological Monitoring of High Elevation Wetlands in Bolivia
SWS Latin American and Caribbean Region webinar, 12/1/2021
Presented by Bart Wickel, PhD, and Jeanne Fernandez, MSc

ABSTRACT:

“Bofedales” are high-elevation wetlands generally found above 3,200 meters elevation in the Andes mountains, in areas with almost permanent inundation. The watersheds northwest of the capital city of La Paz-El Alto, Bolivia, provide water supply to rural indigenous communities, as well as an urban population of almost 2.3 million. However, the health of Bofedales in these watersheds is significantly declining due to overgrazing, excavation for fuel, dam construction, over-abstraction of water, and climate change. Due to insufficient long-term hydrological and meteorological data, our ability to sustainably manage these ecosystems is limited. To establish a baseline of the eco-hydrologic conditions of Bofedales in our watersheds, we performed a multi-temporal remote sensing study using Landsat scenes taken between 1984 and 2020. This dataset was used to characterize the seasonal and long-term variability in vegetation cover (NDVI), waterbody extent (MNDWI), and snow cover (NDSI). The observed variations in seasonal NDVI and MNDWI values suggest that Bofedales species below 4200m are more productive compared to the highest wetlands (above 4600m). This can be explained by a higher average temperature at lower elevations and a more constant outflow of groundwater. NDSI values revealed changes in seasonal snow and a dramatic loss of glacier area. Overall, NDVI values indicated a greening trend. We speculate that this might be a temporary positive impact of climate change causing a greater supply of snowmelt and rainwater and warmer temperatures. The next steps include a more targeted analysis with field measurements and higher resolution satellite imagery.
Bart Wickel Bio:

Bart Wickel is a Senior Scientist with the U.S. Center, based in Davis, California. His work with SEI focuses on spatial analyses and tool development for sustainable water resource management. His areas of expertise include hydrology, remote sensing and GIS spatial analysis, climate change adaptation, impacts of land-use change, and hydropower development and ecosystem services. Prior to joining SEI, Bart was lead hydrologist for WWF-US in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for the development of spatial tools and analyses that supported freshwater biodiversity conservation in WWF priority basins and places around the globe (such as the Amazon, Mesoamerican Reef, Amur-Heilong, Mekong, Rio Grande, Zambezi, and Okavango). He has held research positions affiliated with the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture Hydrology Laboratory), EMBRAPA-CPATU (Amazonian Agricultural Research Service, Brazil) and CONABIO (Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, Mexico). Throughout his career, Bart has trained numerous professionals from government agencies, academics and NGO staff on forest hydrology, hydro-spatial data analysis and remote sensing. Bart holds degrees from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (MSc, 1998) and the University of Bonn (PhD, 2004, magna cum laude).

Jeanne Fernandez Bio:

Jeanne Fernandez is a Scientist with the Water Group in Davis, CA and works on water resources modeling in the US and internationally. She joined SEI in January 2019 At SEI, Jeanne is helping build water allocation models in SEI’s Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system for the California State Water Resources Control Board. She is also contributing substantially to the watershed analysis and the poverty and gender components of the WATCH project in Bolivia. Prior to joining SEI, Jeanne worked as a water supply and drainage engineer in the utility sector in Denmark. She developed a high level of expertise in using urban water models, geographic information systems (GIS), and database management tools to design drinking water distribution systems and flood mitigation infrastructure. In particular, she supported the decision-making on Copenhagen’s climate adaptation plans. Jeanne also has experience in the NGO sector, formulating development projects and capacity building efforts with local organizations in India and Tanzania in the field of water management and sanitation. Jeanne earned MSc degrees from the Ecole Centrale de Nantes and from Denmark Technical University.

Credit Points: 0.06

SYLLABUS/TOPICAL OUTLINE 1) Introduction to the Bofedales of Brazil (9 min). 2) Challenges facing the hydrologic environments of the Bofedales (9 min). 3) Establishment of baseline hydrologic data for sustainable Bofedale water management (9 min). 4) Trends indicated in vegetation structure and hydrologic parameters through interpretation of remote sensing data from the Bofedale (9 min). 5) Future planning for environmental monitoring (9 min). 6) Questions and Answers (15 min).

COURSE CONTACT

Louis Mantini
9225 CR49, Live Oak, FL 32060
lfm@swmd.org
P: 386.647.3144
F: 386.362.1001

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