Deriving the maximum extent and hydroperiod of open water from Sentinel-2 imagery for global sustainability and biodiversity reporting for wetlands

Authors

  • Heidi van Deventer 1. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; 2. Department of Geography, Geoinformatics & Meteorology Geography, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0083, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7854-2155
  • A Linström Wet Earth Eco Specs (Pty) Ltd, 58 Kerk Str, Lydenburg 1120, South Africa
  • JF Durand Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2966-1163
  • L Naidoo Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), a Partnership of the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Gauteng Provincial Government and Organised Local Government in Gauteng (SALGA), Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7091-0566
  • MA Cho 1. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; 2. School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa; 3. Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8278-2111

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/wsa/2022.v48.i1.3883

Keywords:

Aichi Target 11, hydrological regime, lacustrine wetlands, Mpumalanga Lake District (MLD), open water monitoring, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.6 & 15.1

Abstract

The monitoring of wetland extent is a global imperative, considering loss of ecosystem services and conservation value. To date, the understanding of the variation in the extent of lacustrine (inundated) wetlands has been limited, based on intermittently available, coarse-scale imagery. The aim of this study was to assess the capabilities of the freely available Sentinel-2 sensor in monitoring inundated wetlands. In particular, to demonstrate the ability to determine the maximum extent of inundation for reporting on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15.1 (i.e., halting biodiversity loss), the functional diversity and the hydrological regime of depressions were explored in the Mpumalanga Lake District (MLD) of South Africa. Using the monthly inundation data derived from Sentinel-2 images between January 2016 and May 2018, the results showed that the maximum extent of open water can be successfully reported for SDG 6.6. Lacustrine wetlands constituted about 47 of the 416 (but 66% of the total areal extent of) depressions in the MLD, while others were predominantly palustrine (vegetated). The functional diversity varied from predominantly (61% of the extent of) inundated depressions to seasonally (3%) inundated depressions. The Sentinel-2 sensor was able to detect intra- and inter-annual variation of the extent of inundation, making it suitable to monitor these wetlands for global and climate change impacts.

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Published

2022-01-26

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 1 January (2022): Water SA

Section

Research paper

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Heidi van Deventer, A Linström, JF Durand, L Naidoo, MA Cho

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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How to Cite

Heidi van Deventer (2022) “Deriving the maximum extent and hydroperiod of open water from Sentinel-2 imagery for global sustainability and biodiversity reporting for wetlands”, Water SA, 48(1 January). doi:10.17159/wsa/2022.v48.i1.3883.