A regional, remote sensing-based approach to mapping land degradation in the Little Karoo, South Africa

There is growing global consensus that assessments of land degradation be conducted at regional or smaller scales. Working at this scale allows for locally relevant environmental and land use conditions to be incorporated into the assessment methodology. In this paper, a recently developed regional approach to assessing land degradation in the Hardeveld bioregion of the Succulent Karoo is applied to the Little Karoo region of this biome. The methodology uses fuzzy classification statistical techniques to combine field data with multiple Sentinel-2A and Landsat vegetation indices, as well as regionally modelled soil variables. The resultant habitat condition archetype map values show strong correlation with field observations of perennial plant and bare soil cover in 96 ground-truthed plots. The archetype map indicates that heavily degraded hotspots of high bare ground cover occur throughout the project region, although there is an overall lower average habitat condition in the western half of the Little Karoo. The mean habitat condition archetype value for the entire project area is 0.54 (standard deviation = 0.13), on a continuous scale where 0 and 1 represent the most degraded and pristine extremes, respectively. Random forest regression analysis of various environmental covariates of degradation indicates a strong relationship between habitat condition and topographic as well as rainfall variables, although the limited accuracy of modelled livestock data may obscure the negative impacts of overgrazing. The 30 m resolution habitat condition archetype map builds upon previous degradation research in the Little Karoo and has the potential to inform future conservation, restoration, and rangeland management decisions. The methodology was successfully transferred to a new region and provides an opportunity to improve reporting on the extent of land degradation across South Africa.