INVENTORY AND MONITORING OF SOUTH AFRICAN WETLANDS INTEGRATING FIELD DATA, EARTH OBSERVATION DATA ANALYSIS, AND GIS-BASED TERRAIN ANALYSIS

摘要

Different types of wetlands are under transition since intensive afforestation starting in 1989 has taken place in the headwaters of the Umzimvubu catchment, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. To date, little attention was given to the extent and distribution of these wetlands, nor the impact of these land use changes on both their hydrology and interaction with their tributary catchments. Addressing this deficit, an interdisciplinary project was initiated to identify and assess changes in wetland dynamics and wetland functionality within a basin perspective. A prerequisite for the assessment of these phenomena is the delineation and inventory of the different types of wetlands at regional scale. This paper presents an approach aiming to the inventory and monitoring of wetlands in this area integrating field studies, remote sensing data and products, and GIS-based terrain analysis.