Environmental change and soil organic carbon storage in a dust emission hotspot, Free State, South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: Drylands farming areas are subject to land cover or land use change, climate change, and a variety of land management practices which may contribute to dust emissions and soil loss, a common symptom of land degradation. The goal of this study was to establish how the shift in land cover or land use change affects the occurrence of dust and determine the climate constraints and mitigations to crop production with focus on the dustiest parts of South Africa in the Free State Moreover, the study wished to establish land management strategies suitable for enhancing the storage of soil organic carbon and associated ecosystem services. To investigate how the shift in land cover or land use affects the occurrence of dust from 2006- 2016, the study firstly identified the spatial and temporal changes of land cover (LC) using the 2000 and 2013-2014 land cover maps derived from Agricultural Research Council. The results showed that grassland is still dominating in 2013-2014 but has decreased by 22 % from 2000. Cultivated land on the other hand has increased by 26 % from 2000 to 2013-2014. Some of the changes seen in recent data might also be the result of the associated data products. The change is however continuous and significant as major LC changes occurred over long-time scales. Cultivated land and grassland are dominant land cover and cultivated land is substantially being used to meet the economic demand (international maize price). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Enhanced Vegetation Index (MODIS EVI) was used to assess vegetation cover for the site of the start of dust. MODIS EVI indicated that vegetation plays a significant role during the occurrence of atmospheric dust. Sparse vegetation (EVI ranging from 0 – 0.18) is directly proportional to dust production. Dust events were generally observed in cultivated land especially in 2015 and 2016. Moreover, findings showed that vegetation is not solely a factor that affects dust production; rainfall, temperat…
abstract: Drylands farming areas are subject to land cover or land use change, climate change, and a variety of land management practices which may contribute to dust emissions and soil loss, a common symptom of land degradation. The goal of this study was to establish how the shift in land cover or land use change affects the occurrence of dust and determine the climate constraints and mitigations to crop production with focus on the dustiest parts of South Africa in the Free State Moreover, the study wished to establish land management strategies suitable for enhancing the storage of soil organic carbon and associated ecosystem services. To investigate how the shift in land cover or land use affects the occurrence of dust from 2006- 2016, the study firstly identified the spatial and temporal changes of land cover (LC) using the 2000 and 2013-2014 land cover maps derived from Agricultural Research Council. The results showed that grassland is still dominating in 2013-2014 but has decreased by 22 % from 2000. Cultivated land on the other hand has increased by 26 % from 2000 to 2013-2014. Some of the changes seen in recent data might also be the result of the associated data products. The change is however continuous and significant as major LC changes occurred over long-time scales. Cultivated land and grassland are dominant land cover and cultivated land is substantially being used to meet the economic demand (international maize price). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Enhanced Vegetation Index (MODIS EVI) was used to assess vegetation cover for the site of the start of dust. MODIS EVI indicated that vegetation plays a significant role during the occurrence of atmospheric dust. Sparse vegetation (EVI ranging from 0 – 0.18) is directly proportional to dust production. Dust events were generally observed in cultivated land especially in 2015 and 2016. Moreover, findings showed that vegetation is not solely a factor that affects dust production; rainfall, temperat…
author: Ndara, Nolusindiso
keywords: Environmental and Geographical Sciences
date published: 2023
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:44Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38098