Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa
Land degradation threatens ecosystems and socio-economic development of Southern Africa. Evaluation of land degradation is widely conducted using a remote-sensed indicator to provide key information for alleviating degradation. However, the commonly used single indicator cannot reveal complex degrad...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/2/403 |
| _version_ | 1797437420787990528 |
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| author | Zidong Li Changjia Li Dexin Gao Shuai Wang |
| author_facet | Zidong Li Changjia Li Dexin Gao Shuai Wang |
| author_sort | Zidong Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land degradation threatens ecosystems and socio-economic development of Southern Africa. Evaluation of land degradation is widely conducted using a remote-sensed indicator to provide key information for alleviating degradation. However, the commonly used single indicator cannot reveal complex degradation processes. In this study, we conducted an integrated evaluation by utilizing linear regression, residual trend analysis, and sequential regression methods to detect visible, potential human-induced, and functional land degradation in Southern Africa. The results showed that visible, potential, and functional land degradation accounted for 8%, 9.6%, and 21.9% of the entire study area, respectively. In total, 34% (171.96 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) of the region exhibited one or more forms of land degradation; 28.9% (146.01 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) of the land experienced a single land degradation type, whereas 5.1% (25.95 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) exhibited intensified degradation by two or three forms. Land degradation was more severe in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, and Mozambique. Potential degradation (11.76%) and functional degradation (56.88%) may co-exist with vegetation greening. This study suggests that a single indicator assessment underestimates the overall land degradation, and thus integrated indicators and methods are better for a comprehensive assessment. Spatial pattern and degradation process analyses are useful for the formulation of land restoration policies in Southern Africa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:20:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43c8fc7c67f14731884e67de0c97fc9f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:20:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-43c8fc7c67f14731884e67de0c97fc9f2023-12-01T00:20:14ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-01-0115240310.3390/rs15020403Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern AfricaZidong Li0Changjia Li1Dexin Gao2Shuai Wang3State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaLand degradation threatens ecosystems and socio-economic development of Southern Africa. Evaluation of land degradation is widely conducted using a remote-sensed indicator to provide key information for alleviating degradation. However, the commonly used single indicator cannot reveal complex degradation processes. In this study, we conducted an integrated evaluation by utilizing linear regression, residual trend analysis, and sequential regression methods to detect visible, potential human-induced, and functional land degradation in Southern Africa. The results showed that visible, potential, and functional land degradation accounted for 8%, 9.6%, and 21.9% of the entire study area, respectively. In total, 34% (171.96 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) of the region exhibited one or more forms of land degradation; 28.9% (146.01 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) of the land experienced a single land degradation type, whereas 5.1% (25.95 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) exhibited intensified degradation by two or three forms. Land degradation was more severe in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, and Mozambique. Potential degradation (11.76%) and functional degradation (56.88%) may co-exist with vegetation greening. This study suggests that a single indicator assessment underestimates the overall land degradation, and thus integrated indicators and methods are better for a comprehensive assessment. Spatial pattern and degradation process analyses are useful for the formulation of land restoration policies in Southern Africa.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/2/403land degradation detectionremote-sensed indicatorsTSS-RESTRENDSeRGsSouthern Africa |
| spellingShingle | Zidong Li Changjia Li Dexin Gao Shuai Wang Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa Remote Sensing land degradation detection remote-sensed indicators TSS-RESTREND SeRGs Southern Africa |
| title | Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa |
| title_full | Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa |
| title_fullStr | Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa |
| title_short | Discrimination among Climate, Human Activities, and Ecosystem Functional-Induced Land Degradation in Southern Africa |
| title_sort | discrimination among climate human activities and ecosystem functional induced land degradation in southern africa |
| topic | land degradation detection remote-sensed indicators TSS-RESTREND SeRGs Southern Africa |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/2/403 |
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