Masuma Chowdhury, Alejo Martínez-Sansigre, Maruška Mole et al. AI-driven remote sensing enhances Mediterranean seagrass monitoring and conservation to combat climate change and anthropogenic impacts, 15 September 2023, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [AI-driven remote sensing enhances Mediterranean seagrass monitoring and conservation to combat climate change and anthropogenic impacts | Research Square]
Abstract
Seagrasses are undergoing widespread loss due to anthropogenic pressure and climate change. Since 1960, the Mediterranean seascape lost 13–50% of the areal extent of its dominant and endemic seagrass- Posidonia oceanica , which regulates its ecosystem. Many conservation and restoration projects failed due to poor site selection and lack of long-term monitoring. Here, we present a fast and efficient operational approach based on a deep-learning artificial intelligence model using Sentinel-2 data to map the spatial extent of the meadows, enabling short and long-term monitoring, and identifying the impacts of natural and human-induced stressors and changes at different timescales. We apply ACOLITE atmospheric correction to the satellite data and use the output to train the model along with the ancillary data and map the extent of the meadows. We apply noise-removing filters to enhance the map quality. We obtain 74–92% of overall accuracy, 72–91% of user’s accuracy, and 81–92% of producer’s accuracy, where high accuracies are observed at 0-25m depth. Our model is easily adaptable to other regions and can produce maps in in-situ data-scarce regions, providing a first-hand overview. Our approach can help restoration practitioners, conservationists and ecosystem managers to make rational decisions to protect this species and promote sustainability.
Figure 4. DLNN model trained with Formentera in-situ data
