Potential of remote sensing in management of tidal flats: A case study of thematic mapping in the Korean tidal flats

• A comprehensive study is required to fully understand the tidal flat environment.
• Landsat TM/ETM+ is still widely used for thematic map generation.
• Thematic maps based on remote sensing techniques can help inform policy decisions.
• Specific case studies of tidal flats in Korea were examined.

Tidal flats in Korea are increasingly being changed by various construction projects. This report reviews the remote sensing techniques used to monitor tidal flats and suggests appropriate techniques for meeting monitoring targets for the effective management of tidal flats. The application of remote sensing to studies of tidal flats and the characteristics of the preferred satellite data for a particular monitoring target were examined from a statistical analysis of peer-reviewed journals and case studies of Korean tidal flats. Specifically, three different monitoring targets were examined: topography, sedimentary facies, and biofacies. To date, the Landsat thematic mapper (TM) and the enhanced thematic mapper (ETM+) have been most widely used for this purpose due to the large amount of archived data, the convenience of time-series analysis, and the minimal or no-cost data acquisition. Sedimentary facies of the tidal flats can be classified into the three categories mud, mixed, and sand, at a spatial resolution of 30 m. A potential map for macrobenthos was generated with high accuracy based on the spatial variables. High-resolution, space-borne, and X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems such as TerraSAR-X and Cosmo-SkyMed were used to improve the accuracy of tidal flat digital elevation model (DEM) generation and halophyte distribution mapping. The details of those data can be further enhanced by the use of a high-spatial-resolution image. The legislation regarding the monitoring of tidal flats in Korea and Germany was compared to the potential application of remote sensing to the monitoring of tidal flats. Thematic maps based on remote sensing can help improve policy decisions from a management perspective.