Research Articles (Geography and Environmental Studies)
Recent Submissions
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Fire and life history affect the distribution of plant species in a biodiversity hotspot
(Wiley, 2019)Aim: Species distribution models (SDMs) provide valuable insights into species–environment relationships and potential climate change impacts on diversity. Most SDMs do not account for the role of natural disturbance ... -
Reflections on student tourism research in South Africa
(AfricaJournals, 2017)In South Africa, the tourism system has seen considerable policy attention over the past twenty years. As a consequence, there has been a large body of scholarship tracing its development. Much of this work draws heavily ... -
Extreme 1-day rainfall distributions : analysing change in the Western Cape
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2017)Severe floods in the Western Cape Province of South Africa have caused significant damage to property and infrastructure over the past decade (2003–2014). The hydrological design criteria for exposed structures and design ... -
Transferability of decision trees for land cover classification in a heterogeneous area
(CONSAS, 2017-04)As the value of accurate land cover becomes more apparent, methods to decrease the costs associated with supervised land cover mapping are investigated. One such method is to use training data captured in one scene and ... -
Are the walls giving way to fences? Is racial integration within Kwadukuza municipality leading to income-based class segregation?
(CONSAS, 2017-10)The racial and development imbalances created by apartheid have made a profound impact on the urban and social landscape in South Africa. Despite it being 20 years into the dawn of a new South Africa, many parts of society ... -
Quantitative risk analysis using vulnerability indicators to assess food insecurity in the Niayes agricultural region of West Senegal
(AOSIS Publishing, 2017)There is an increasing need to develop indicators of vulnerability and adaptive capacity to determine the robustness of response strategies over time and better understand the underlying processes. This study aimed to ... -
Collaborative risk governance in informal urban areas : the case of Wallacedene temporary relocation area
(AOSIS Publishing, 2017)Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) is an emancipatory approach that aims to empower local communities in reducing their own risks. A community risk assessment (CRA) is an essential element of CBDRM, incorporating ... -
Coping with drought : the experience of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) in the George Municipality
(Water Research Commission, 2015)This study investigated the extent of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) activities in the George Municipality in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, and its impact on water consumption. The WSUD approach aims to ... -
The use of Landsat and aerial photography for the assessment of coastal erosion and erosion susceptibility in False Bay, South Africa
(CONSAS Conference, 2015-06)Coastal erosion is a worldwide hazard, the consequences of which can only be mitigated via thorough and efficient monitoring of erosion. This study aimed to employ remote sensing techniques on aerial photographs and ... -
Identifying the challenges of creating an optimal dissemination geography for census
(CONSAS Conference, 2015-02)The importance of census data in government and private-sector planning cannot be underestimated. However, the geographic level at which it is made available for different users, is a highly debateable issue. ... -
Change detection of bare areas in the Xolobeni region, South Africa using Landsat NDVI
(CONSAS Conference, 2015-06)Identification and protection of areas that are vulnerable to erosion is essential for the conservation of the sensitive wetlands and estuarine ecosystems along the Xolobeni coastal strip. The forecasting ... -
Remote sensing training in African conservation
(Wiley, 2017-01)The potential of remote sensing (RS) to assist with conservation planning, implementation and monitoring is well described, and particularly relevant in African areas that are inaccessible due to terrain, finances or ... -
Free satellite data key to conservation
(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018-07)INTRODUCTION: Biodiversity is in crisis, with extinction rates orders of magnitude higher than background levels (1). Underfunded conservationists need to target their limited resources effectively. Over the past ... -
Development of a composite soil degradation assessment index for cocoa agroecosystems in southwestern Nigeria
(European Geosciences Union, 2017-08-09)Cocoa agroecosystems are a major land-use type in the tropical rainforest belt of West Africa, reportedly associated with several ecological changes, including soil degradation. This study aims to develop a composite soil ... -
Probabilistic description of vegetation ecotones using remote sensing
(Elsevier, 2018-07)Ecotone transitions between vegetation types are of interest for understanding regional diversity, ecological processes and biogeographical patterns. Ecotones are seldom represented on vector, line-based vegetation maps, ... -
An ‘age-regation’ process as theoretical understanding of the gated retirement village
(SUN MeDIA Bloemfontein, 2012-04)Gating the elderly appears to be a common and inevitable part of international urban life. In our study we have used the structure-agency relationship to identify and analyse the salient elements of the process of gating. ... -
Modelling water stress in a Shiraz Vineyard using hyperspectral imaging and machine learning
(MDPI, 2018)The detection of water stress in vineyards plays an integral role in the sustainability of high-quality grapes and prevention of devastating crop loses. Hyperspectral remote sensing technologies combined with machine ... -
Characterizing degradation gradients through land cover change analysis in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
(MDPI, 2017)Land cover change analysis was performed for three catchments in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa, for two time steps (2000 and 2014), to characterize landscape conversion trajectories for sustained landscape health. ... -
A simple normalized difference approach to burnt area mapping using multi-polarisation C-band SAR
(MDPI, 2017)In fire-prone ecosystems, periodic fires are vital for ecosystem functioning. Fire managers seek to promote the optimal fire regime by managing fire season and frequency requiring detailed information on the extent and ... -
A spectral unmixing method with ensemble estimation of endmembers : application to flood mapping in the Caprivi floodplain
(MDPI, 2017)The Caprivi basin in Namibia has been affected by severe flooding in recent years resulting in deaths, displacements and destruction of infrastructure. The negative consequences of these floods have emphasized the need for ...
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