Remote Sensing of African Mountains: Geospatial Tools Toward Sustainability

Acknowledgment
Reviewers
Introduction
References
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Montane Grasslands: Biomass Estimations Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Africa
	1.1 Introduction
	1.2 Methodology
		1.2.1 Data Source
		1.2.2 Data Retrieval
		1.2.3 Data Analysis
	1.3 AGB and RS in Montane Grasslands
	1.4 BGB and RS in Montane Grasslands
	1.5 Grasslands Biomass Estimation in Montane Environments: Global Knowledge
	1.6 Issues and Challenges in Africa
	1.7 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 2: Unravelling Regional Geodiversity: A Grid-Mapping Approach to Quantify Geodiversity in the uThukela District, KwaZulu-Natal
	2.1 Introduction
	2.2 Materials and Methods
		2.2.1 Regional Settings
		2.2.2 Geodiversity Classification
			2.2.2.1 Grid Resolution
			2.2.2.2 Geodiversity Partial Index Classification
			2.2.2.3 Geodiversity Partial Index Classification
	2.3 Results and Discussion
		2.3.1 UTDM Sub-partial Diversity Quantification
		2.3.2 Geodiversity Index Map for UTDM
	2.4 Future Work
	2.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 3: Monitoring the Wildfire Activity and Ecosystem Response on Mt. Kilimanjaro Using Earth Observation Data and GIS
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 Study Area
	3.3 Materials and Methods
		3.3.1 Datasets
	3.4 Method
	3.5 Results and Discussion
		3.5.1 Active Fire Detection on Mt. Kilimanjaro
	3.6 Post-fire Monitoring and Vegetation Loss at Mt. Kilimanjaro
	3.7 Vegetation Reconstruction
	3.8 Conclusion and Recommendation
	References
Chapter 4: Ecological Vulnerability Assessment to Grassland Fires in a Protected Mountainous Area Using Remote Sensing and GIS
	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 Study Area
	4.3 Methodology
		4.3.1 Erosion Sensitivity
		4.3.2 Vegetation Response Ability
		4.3.3 Ecological Vulnerability
		4.3.4 Validation
	4.4 Results and Discussion
	4.5 Ecological Vulnerability Validation
	4.6 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 5: Natural Hazards Magnitude, Vulnerability, and Recovery Strategies in the Rwenzori Mountains, Southwestern Uganda
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 Materials and Methods
		5.2.1 Description of Study Area
		5.2.2 Natural Hazards in Mountain Rwenzori
		5.2.3 Elements at Risk in Mountain Rwenzori
		5.2.4 Disaster Recovery Assessment
	5.3 Results
		5.3.1 Spatial Exposure Profile of Hazards in Mt. Rwenzori
		5.3.2 Vulnerability of Elements to Natural Hazards in Mt. Rwenzori
			5.3.2.1 Elements Vulnerable to Drought Hazard
			5.3.2.2 Elements Vulnerable to Earthquake Hazard
			5.3.2.3 Elements Vulnerable to Flood Hazard
			5.3.2.4 Element Vulnerable to Hailstorm Hazard
			5.3.2.5 Elements Vulnerable to Landslide Hazard
			5.3.2.6 Elements Vulnerable to Lightning Hazard
			5.3.2.7 Elements Vulnerable to Windstorm Hazard
		5.3.3 Disaster Recovery Strategies to Natural Hazards in the Rwenzori Mountains
			5.3.3.1 Buildings
			5.3.3.2 Croplands
			5.3.3.3 Police Posts
			5.3.3.4 Health Facilities
			5.3.3.5 Road Network
			5.3.3.6 Schools
			5.3.3.7 Water Sources
	5.4 Discussion
		5.4.1 The Magnitude and Vulnerability of Natural Hazards Experienced in Mt. Rwenzori
			5.4.1.1 Elements Vulnerable to Drought Hazard
			5.4.1.2 Elements Vulnerable to Earthquake Hazard
			5.4.1.3 Elements Vulnerable to Flood Hazard
			5.4.1.4 Element Vulnerable to Hailstorm Hazard
			5.4.1.5 Elements Vulnerable to Landslide Hazard
			5.4.1.6 Elements Vulnerable to Lightning Hazard
			5.4.1.7 Elements Vulnerable to Windstorm Hazard
		5.4.2 The Appropriate Disaster Recovery Strategies to Natural Hazards in the Rwenzori Mountains
			5.4.2.1 Buildings
			5.4.2.2 Croplands
			5.4.2.3 Police Posts
			5.4.2.4 Health Facilities
			5.4.2.5 Road Network
			5.4.2.6 Schools
			5.4.2.7 Water Sources
	5.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 6: Assessing the Vulnerability of the Eastern Africa Highlands’ Soils to Rainfall Erosivity
	6.1 Introduction
	6.2 Materials and Methods
		6.2.1 Data
		6.2.2 Study Area
	6.3 Assessment of Soil Abrasion as a Result of Rainfall Erosivity
	6.4 Results and Discussion
		6.4.1 Spatial Distribution of Rainfall Erosivity Risk Areas
	6.5 Conclusion and Recommendations
	References
Chapter 7: Development of Lightning Hazard Map for Fire Danger Assessment Over Mountainous Protected Area Using Geospatial Technology
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Material and Methods
		7.2.1 Study Area
		7.2.2 Material
			7.2.2.1 CG Lightning Data
			7.2.2.2 Terrain Elevation, Slope, and Aspect
			7.2.2.3 Vegetation Type
			7.2.2.4 Historical Fire
		7.2.3 Methods
			7.2.3.1 Temporal Distribution of Lightning Strikes Activity
			7.2.3.2 Spatial Distribution of Lightning Strikes Activity
	7.3 Development of Lightning Hazard Map
		7.3.1 Relationship of Lightning Hazard Map with Topography (Elevation, Slope, Aspects, Vegetation Types, and Fire Scar)
	7.4 Results
		7.4.1 CG Lightning Strike Events and Density Maps
		7.4.2 Temporal Analysis
	7.5 Spatial Pattern Analysis
		7.5.1 Global Moran 1
		7.5.2 Hotspot Analysis Getis–Ord Gi*
		7.5.3 Development of Lightning Hazard Map
		7.5.4 Regression Analysis
	7.6 Discussion
	7.7 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 8: Water Resources Monitoring Over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco Using Satellite Observations and Reanalysis Data
	8.1 Introduction
	8.2 The Atlas Mountains Context
	8.3 Snow Cover Duration from MODIS Snow Product
	8.4 Precipitation Variability Over the Atlas as Seen from Space
	8.5 ERA5 Temperature Reanalysis Data
	8.6 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 9: Evaluating Settlement Development Change, Pre, and Post-1994 in the Drakensberg Mountains of Afromontane Region, South Africa
	9.1 Introduction
	9.2 Description of the Study Area
	9.3 Methodology
		9.3.1 Image Pre-processing, Processing, and Classification
	9.4 Results
	9.5 Discussion
	9.6 Conclusion and Recommendations
	References
Chapter 10: Digital Soil Mapping for Hydropedological Purposes of the Cathedral Peak Research Catchments, South Africa
	10.1 Introduction
	10.2 Methodology
		10.2.1 Study Site
		10.2.2 Classification of Hydropedological Soil Groups
		10.2.3 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Analysis
		10.2.4 Rule-Based Digital Soil Mapping Utilising the Arc Soil Inference Engine (ArcSIE)
	10.3 Ground Truthing and Validation
		10.3.1 Statistical Validation
	10.4 Results and Discussion
		10.4.1 Hydropedological Classification of Soils
		10.4.2 NDVI Analysis
		10.4.3 Rule-Based Digital Soil Mapping
		10.4.4 Validation
		10.4.5 Statistical Analysis
	10.5 Conclusion
	References
Chapter 11: Effect of Climate Variability and Change on Land Suitability for Irish Potato Production in Kigezi Highlands of Uganda
	11.1 Introduction
	11.2 Materials and Methods
		11.2.1 Study Location
		11.2.2 Site Description
			11.2.2.1 Geomorphology
			11.2.2.2 Geology
			11.2.2.3 Soil
			11.2.2.4 Climate
			11.2.2.5 Vegetation
		11.2.3 Data Analytical Tools and Techniques
			11.2.3.1 Data Sources
				Land Mapping Units and Soil Data
				Climate Data
				Slope Data
				Remote Sensing Data
		11.2.4 Identification of Irish Potato Production Areas
		11.2.5 Accuracy Assessment
		11.2.6 Suitability Rating
		11.2.7 Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC)
		11.2.8 Climate Change Modeling and Irish Potato Production
		11.2.9 Climate Data Preparation
		11.2.10 Model Calibration
		11.2.11 Sensitivity Analysis
		11.2.12 Model Evaluation and Validation
		11.2.13 Seasonal Climate Trend Analysis and Irish Potato Production
	11.3 Results and Discussion
		11.3.1 Land Cover Classification
		11.3.2 The Extent and Suitability of Irish Potato Production Area
		11.3.3 Temperature Trends and Irish Potato Production
		11.3.4 Temperature Trend in March to May Season
		11.3.5 Temperature Trend in September to November Season
		11.3.6 Rainfall Trends
		11.3.7 Irish Potato Yield Trends
		11.3.8 Climate–Irish Potato Relationship
		11.3.9 Climate–Irish Potato Relationship in March to May Seasons (1980–2010)
		11.3.10 Climate–Irish Potato Relationship in September to November Seasons (1980–2010)
	11.4 Conclusions
		11.4.1 Conclusions Drawn for the Study
	11.5 Recommendations
	References
Index