Abstract
M.Sc. (Environmental Management)
Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, supporting critical ecological services and high biological diversity. However, these systems are vulnerable to anthropogenic influences. The lack of wetland recognition for their importance and the absence of efficient monitoring techniques for different wetland vegetation types lead to insufficient attention to protect these systems. Thus, most wetlands are often found in poor functional conditions with degraded ecosystem services. This study was conducted in Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve (KNR), which it is located 10 km from the centre of Johannesburg and 5 km from Soweto. Dubula (2015); KNR (2015) reported in their studies that several vegetation surveys have been conducted in Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve (KNR) in the last two to three decades, but none of these have produced a practical useable map for wetland management purposes. The management of the KNR Reserve requires a suitable methodology for mapping and monitoring the vegetation diversity of the wetlands. Furthermore, it is unknown how much the vegetation of the Reserve’s wetland changes either seasonally or annually. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to map the wetland vegetation dynamics in the KNR using remote sensing techniques. Specific objectives of the study were to assess: (1) the performance of optical remote sensing data for mapping wetland vegetation types in the Reserve, (2) seasonal dynamics of the wetland vegetation in the Reserve, and (3) the inter-annual wetland vegetation dynamics in the Reserve.
The Gauteng Conservation Plan 3.3 (C-Plan 3) was used to define the boundaries of the wetlands in the study area. C-Plan 3 is a decision support tool of Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) that identifies sites critical for maintaining biodiversity. According to this plan, the study area falls within the Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBAs) and Ecological Support Areas (ESAs) of the province. Limited field data were collected within the KNR wetlands during summer 2015 when the vegetation cover was comparatively high. These data identified features including shrub, dense vegetation, grassland and bare land in the study area. Additional samples from Google...