Using LiDAR to characterize logjams in lowland rivers

- LiDAR was used to study wood dynamics in streams.
- LiDAR provides a fast method of logjam inventory in streams.
- A combination of LiDAR and field work provides the best results.

Logjams significantly influence watershed hydrology, flow regime, channel morphology and stability, and processes in lowland rivers. Consequently, logjams play a major role in the existence and conservation of the riparian and aquatic ecosystems along major waterways. In this paper, we attempt to detect and quantify logjams in river channels using LiDAR technology in conjunction with traditional fieldwork. To the best of our knowledge, LiDAR-based analysis has not been used to characterize logjams in streams. Overall, when applied in a lowland river environment, LiDAR-based analysis demonstrates a comprehensive solution for detecting logjams in relation to the fieldwork, with a low rate of omission. A filtered approach predicted the presence of 95% of fieldwork-reported logjams (a 5% rate of omission), but also identified six logjams not identified in the field (a 10% rate of commission). A nonfiltered approach identified 87% of field-reported logjams, producing a 13% rate of omission and a 6.7% rate of commission. Dimension measurements were more consistent in the filtered LiDAR approach, showing 53%, 34%, and 90% of R2 improvements for the length, width, and height, respectively, over the unfiltered LiDAR values. As vegetation cover hindered accurate delineation of logjam boundaries by LiDAR, field and LiDAR measurements of nonvegetation-obstructed logjams were more highly correlated than the field and LiDAR measurements of partially and completely vegetation-obstructed logjams.