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Using Remote Sensing to Quantify Vegetation Change and Ecological Resilience in a Semi-Arid System

Author

Listed:
  • Xia Cui

    (The State Key Laboratory of Grassland Farming Systems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China)

  • Cerian Gibbes

    (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA)

  • Jane Southworth

    (Department of Geography & Land Use and Environmental Change Institute (LUECI), University of Florida; 3141 Turlington Hall, P.O. Box 117315, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Peter Waylen

    (Department of Geography & Land Use and Environmental Change Institute (LUECI), University of Florida; 3141 Turlington Hall, P.O. Box 117315, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

Abstract

This research extends upon land cover change studies by incorporating methodological approaches, which are compatible with heterogeneous ecosystems, are able to link landscape changes to system processes, such as climate change, and provide potential linkages to concepts of ecological resilience. The study region in southern Africa experienced a significant climatic shift in the 1970s, resulting in drier conditions. The state of these ecosystems and their response to such climatic shock is quantified in terms of vegetation amount and heterogeneity. We monitor these characteristics pre- and post-disturbance using a Landsat image series and examine the utility of continuous characterizations of land cover for measuring ecosystem resilience. Land cover change is evaluated using a mean-variance analysis in concert with a spatial persistence analysis. This investigation indicates that although the impact of the decreased precipitation is evident in the 1980s, recovery occurred by the 1990s and 2000s. We found the continuous methodological approach used holds potential for studying heterogeneous landscapes within a resilience framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Xia Cui & Cerian Gibbes & Jane Southworth & Peter Waylen, 2013. "Using Remote Sensing to Quantify Vegetation Change and Ecological Resilience in a Semi-Arid System," Land, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:2:y:2013:i:2:p:108-130:d:24815
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Magadza, C. H. D., 1994. "Climate change: some likely multiple impacts in Southern Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 165-191, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jorge Soto & Celián Román-Figueroa & Manuel Paneque, 2019. "A Model for Estimating the Vegetation Cover in the High-Altitude Wetlands of the Andes (HAWA)," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Jingzhong Li & Xiao Xie & Bingyu Zhao & Xiao Xiao & Bing Xue, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Processes and Characteristics of Vegetation Recovery in the Earthquake Area: A Case Study of Wenchuan, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Haiyan Liu & Kangning Xiong & Yanghua Yu & Tingling Li & Yao Qing & Zhifu Wang & Shihao Zhang, 2021. "A Review of Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability and Resilience: Implications for the Rocky Desertification Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. John Tyler Fox & Mark E. Vandewalle & Kathleen A. Alexander, 2017. "Land Cover Change in Northern Botswana: The Influence of Climate, Fire, and Elephants on Semi-Arid Savanna Woodlands," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-23, October.
    5. Fullman, Timothy J. & Bunting, Erin L. & Kiker, Gregory A. & Southworth, Jane, 2017. "Predicting shifts in large herbivore distributions under climate change and management using a spatially-explicit ecosystem model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 352(C), pages 1-18.
    6. Edith Olmos-Trujillo & Julián González-Trinidad & Hugo Júnez-Ferreira & Anuard Pacheco-Guerrero & Carlos Bautista-Capetillo & Claudia Avila-Sandoval & Eric Galván-Tejada, 2020. "Spatio-Temporal Response of Vegetation Indices to Rainfall and Temperature in A Semiarid Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Narcisa G. Pricope & Andrea E. Gaughan & John D. All & Michael W. Binford & Lucas P. Rutina, 2015. "Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Vegetation Dynamics in Relation to Shifting Inundation and Fire Regimes: Disentangling Environmental Variability from Land Management Decisions in a Southern African Transb," Land, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-29, July.

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