Multispectral remote sensing of groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Kruger National Park, South Africa
| dc.contributor.author | Chiloane, Chantel Nthabiseng | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-21T08:06:55Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-21T08:06:55Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Groundwater dependent vegetation (GDV) provides crucial ecosystem services for ecological and socio-economic development. The significance of GDV is amplified in semi-arid rangelands where they provide habitat, and forage for wildlife during the dry periods when surface water resources are scarce. Continuous assessment and conservation of groundwater-GDV in semi-arid rangelands, such as Kruger National Park (KNP) is crucial for maintaining ecosystem resilience and biodiversity amid the challenges posed predominantly by climate change. This study investigates the integration of remote sensing, machine learning, and climate modeling to delineate, map, and monitor the spatial distribution, diversity, and climate vulnerability of GDV in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. By utilizing cloud computing platforms like Google Earth Engine (GEE) in conjunction with open-source datasets and crowd-sourced field observations, this research sought to demonstrate the potential for conducting large-scale and fine-grained ecological assessments. To address the aim of this study the following specific objectives were drawn (i) to develop remote sensing-based techniques for delineating and mapping the spatial distribution of GDV in the Kruger National Park, (ii) to assess the potential of spatially explicit techniques to determine species diversity within groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs), (iii) to explore the spatio-temporal variations of vegetation diversity in GDEs and the driving forces for the observed changes and (iv)to determine climate change effects on the habitat suitability for GDV under the moderateclimate change scenario. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | N/A | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10566/21448 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Western Cape | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | N/A | |
| dc.subject | Anthropogenic pressure | |
| dc.subject | Climate change | |
| dc.subject | Data analytics | |
| dc.subject | Drylands | |
| dc.subject | Ecological integrity | |
| dc.title | Multispectral remote sensing of groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Kruger National Park, South Africa | |
| dc.type | Thesis |