Monitoring wetlands variation in the Yellow River Basin for water resources management using Beijing-1 images

In many parts of the world wetlands have been drained and converted to other uses, polluted or degraded. In China, limited water supply has seriously worsened the wetland condition in arid and semi-arid Yellow River Basin. An important goal of the Yellow River Basin water resource management is to characterize wetlands degradation for the development of a rational water resource utilization strategy. In our study, a new data source, Beijing-1 DMC+4 micro satellite remote sensing images, was used for investigating wetlands resources in the Yellow River Basin. Based on analyzing wetlands pattern and water resources condition in each sub-region, the comprehensive wetland conservation strategies were put forward to fulfill the objectives of integrated river basin management.