Application of remote sensing and GIS in modelling bison carrying capacity in mixed-grass prairie

Understanding carrying capacity of plains bison (B. bison bison) is critical for protecting this wild species and grassland ecosystem in mixed-grass prairie. The overall goal of this study is to examine plains bison carrying capacity in the mixed-grass prairie. There are four specific objectives: 1) investigate annual space use of plains bison and their seasonal core ranges, 2) assess seasonal Resources Selection Functions (RSFs) of plains bison, 3) estimate vegetation biomass and productivity of mixed-grass prairie, and 4) estimate carrying capacity taking into account RSFs. I used Kernel Density Estimator to address the first objective. Generalized Linear Mixed Effects models were used for the second objective. The last two objectives were completed using Sentinel-2 Multispectral Image (MSI). This study highlights the power of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques in estimating key driver of bison carrying capacity (available forage) and adjusting factor (RSFs). Results show that bison family groups in Grasslands National Park frequent specific areas. They mainly use the northeast corner of the West Block and expand the core range when it comes to dormant season. Vegetation type information and other landscape factors (slope, distance to water, roads, fences, and prairie dog town) are influencing seasonal RSFs of bison family groups. Vegetation productivity is 734 kg ha-1 supporting 671 - 959 Bison Unit as the carrying capacity. Our study not only contributes to a better bison management plan for Grasslands National Park, one of seven conservation areas of wild plains bison in Canada, but also assists in understanding the interaction of this wild species with the mixed-grass prairie ecosystem

Evaluating the variation characteristics of ecological resilience along expressways in developing countries: the case of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway in Cambodia

Expressway construction has caused a significant threat to the ecological environment in developing countries, and therefore the variation characteristics of ecological resilience along the expressway in developing countries are of major importance. This empirical study focuses on a typical area within a 2-km range of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway in Cambodia and uses remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technology to analyze the variation characteristics of ecological resilience along the expressway. The results of the study reveal that due to the construction of expressways, the land use types transferred into or out of the land use types increase and furthermore the land use types show a trend of decreasing natural attributes and increasing human attributes. It is found that expressway construction has an observed effect on the transfer rate of the center of gravity of land use type, and the direction of the center of gravity shifts in the direction of expressway construction. The impact of construction on the ecological resilience of the western region with higher vegetation coverage was higher than that of the eastern region with higher urbanization. The research develops a theoretical evaluation model based on land use type of the variation characteristics of ecological resilience along the expressway, which can be used to enable the sustainability of expressway construction and maintain the regional ecological environment

Sustainability of Rural Water Supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: GIT-Based Studies in East-Central Tanzania

The achievement of sustainable and lasting effects from projects is a significant challenge for donors and the agencies implementing and supporting water supply in developing countries. The current estimations for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) suggest that only two out of three water points in rural areas on the continent are functioning at any given time. The region of SSA includes many of the world’s poorest countries, and sustainability of water supply services is vital concerning people without access to safe drinking water. Not surprisingly, many policies and planning decisions are taken without access to adequate data, a situation that increases the risk of inappropriate measures being adopted. The objective of the present study is to address the potential of applying geospatial technology to monitor the sustainability of rural water supply services. It focused on the Wami River Basin in Tanzania due to its diversified use, which benefits a multi-diversity of stakeholders and its role as a vital area for providing water, food and other natural resources. It is in the interest of this study to understanding reasons for “success” and “failure” of water points using Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) based approach to analyse factors of biophysical and human domains that respond to both in time and space. The study analyses the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall time series in the Wami River Basin during 1983–2017 for any significant changes in the patterns and how they affect the access to water supply services in rural areas. First, waterpoint mapping datasets were analysed considering seasonal variation. Later, the study focused on changes in land-use/land-cover patterns upstream and downstream and explored the spatial econometric technique by analysing the impact of land-use/land-cover change on water ecosystem services for domestic use in the basin. Lastly, I provide my vision of the water-food-land nexus giving attention to how it relates to agriculture expansion. I identify trade-offs between and assess the synergies associated with the influence of agriculture intensification and anticipation of water services concerning data availability. The results showed that water points were significantly affected by seasonal changes, both in terms of availability and water quality. There also exists a strong relationship between rural water services and seasons. With a time series of maps, change analysis can reveal the overall development of the land distribution, including the detection of sites of different types of changes. In general, net gain and net loss were observed downstream, indicating that this region was more affected than upstream. I found that all measured land-use/land-cover changes and water point characteristic correlations were statistically significant; therefore, I concluded that land-use/land-cover change affects the water ecosystem in the basin. These findings provide baseline information for decision-makers and stakeholders concerning water supply services for better planning and management decisions in the basin. Furthermore, the approach has contributed to the application of geospatial technologies in rural water supply services and might help pursue sustainability strategies in other basins. The approach based on detailed large-area field data to identify variations in the spatial distribution of the water service supply regarding quality and quantity to a reasonable degree of accuracy. Hence, it presents an excellent opportunity to provide relevant information about water supply services performance in response to spatially and temporally critical importance. However, due to the lack of up-to-date information, it does not cover other essential access aspects concerning the vulnerability of the water services like lack of financial and governance components that play a significant role in the sustainability of rural water supply services. Therefore, more studies should be undertaken to explore the use of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with different temporal and spatial scales in future research, integrating institutional and socio-economic analyses of environmental sustainability.:Note on the Commencement of the Doctoral Procedure ii Declaration of conformity iii AckAcknowledgements v Abstract vi Zusammenfassung viii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The Motivation for Research Issues 3 1.3 Objectives of the Study 7 1.4 Description of the Study Area 7 1.5 The Organisation of the Chapters 11 1.6 References 12 2. Seasonal and Annual Rainfall Variability and Their Impact on Rural Water Supply Services in the Wami River Basin 22 2.1 Abstract 22 2.2 Introduction 23 2.3 Methods and Data 24 2.3.1 Statistical Test for Trend Analysis 25 2.3.2 Simple Regression Model 26 2.3.3 Water Point Mapping System 2.4 Results 29 2.4.1 Annual and Seasonal Rainfall Trends Analysis 29 2.4.2 Dry and Wet Seasonal Variation and Use of Water Points 34 2.5 Discussion 43 2.6 Conclusions 45 2.7 References 46 3. Land-Use and Land-Cover (LULC) Change Detection in the Wami River Basin, Tanzania 54 3.1 Abstract 54 3.2 Introduction 55 3.3 Materials and Methods 57 3.3.1 Data Acquisitions and Preparation 57 3.3.2 Classification and Change Detection 58 3.4 Results 59 3.4.1 Accuracy Assessment 59 3.4.2 Upstream Sub-Catchment (Kinyasungwe) 60 3.4.3 Downstream Sub-Catchment (Wami) 65 3.5 Discussion 68 3.6 Conclusions 70 3.7 References 70 4. Impact of Land-Use/Land-Cover Change on Drinking Water Ecosystem Services in Wami River Basin, Tanzania 78 4.1 Abstract 78 4.2 Introduction 79 4.3 Material and Methods 81 4.3.1 Spatial Regression Analysis 81 4.4 Results 83 4.4.1 Accuracy Assessment 83 4.4.2 Kinyasungwe Sub-Catchment 83 4.4.3 Wami Sub-Catchment 89 4.5 Discussion 95 4.6 Conclusion 97 4.7 References 98 5. Water-Food-Land Nexus and Agriculture Expansion: Prospects for Enhancing Water Ecosystem Services in Tanzania 106 5.1 Abstract 106 5.2 Introduction 107 5.3 Nexus Concept and Interlinkage 109 5.4 Exploring Agriculture Expansion and Drinking Water Supply Services Challenges. 112 5.4.1 Agriculture Expansion Challenges. 112 5.4.2 Water Supply Services Challenges. 113 5.5 Trade-off between Agriculture Expansion and Water Ecosystem Services 114 5.6 Synergies and Role of Data to Improve Accountability in Governance for Sustainable Water Ecosystem Services 116 5.7 The Nexus Approach and Synergies based on improved Management Information Systems (MIS) 118 5.8 Monitoring Drought Resilience based on typologies and a composite Nexus Index 119 5.9 Conclusions 120 5.10 References 121 6. Conclusion, Recommendations and Outlook 134 6.1 Conclusion and Recommendations 134 6.2 Outlook 13

THE BIG PICTURE - SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS IN RANGELAND ASSESSMENT AND CROP INSURANCE

Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

A systematic review on the use of remote sensing technologies in quantifying grasslands ecosystem services

The last decade has seen considerable progress in scientific research on vegetation ecosystem services. While much research has focused on forests and wetlands, grasslands also provide a variety of different provisioning, supporting, cultural, and regulating services. With recent advances in remote sensing technology, there is a possibility that Earth observation data could contribute extensively to research on grassland ecosystem services. This study conducted a systematic review on progress, emerging gaps, and opportunities on the application of remote sensing technologies in quantifying all grassland ecosystem services including those that are related to water. The contribution of biomass, Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Canopy Storage Capacity (CSC) as water-related ecosystem services derived from grasslands was explored. Two hundred and twenty-two peer-reviewed articles from Web of Science, Scopus, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers were analyzed. About 39% of the studies were conducted in Asia with most of the contributions coming from China while a few studies were from the global south regions such as Southern Africa. Overall, forage provision, climate regulation, and primary production were the most researched grassland ecosystem services in the context of Earth observation data applications. About 39 Earth observation sensors were used in the literature to map grassland ecosystem services and MODIS had the highest utilization frequency. The most widely used vegetation indices for mapping general grassland ecosystem services in literature included the red and near-infrared sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. Remote sensing algorithms used within the retrieved literature include process-based models, machine learning algorithms, and multivariate techniques. For water-related grassland ecosystem services, biomass, CSC, and LAI were the most prominent proxies characterized by remotely sensed data for under-standing evapotranspiration, infiltration, run-off, soil water availability, groundwater restoration and surface water balance. An understanding of such hydrological processes is crucial in providing insights on water redistribution and balance within grassland ecosystems which is important for water management