Deriving the maximum extent and hydroperiod of open water from Sentinel-2 imagery for global sustainability and biodiversity reporting for wetlands
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Date
Authors
Van Deventer, Heidi
Linstrom, A.
Durand, J.F.
Naidoo, L.
Cho, Moses Azong
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Water Research Commission
Abstract
The monitoring of wetland extent is a global imperative, considering loss of ecosystem services and
conservation value. To date, the understanding of the variation in the extent of lacustrine (inundated)
wetlands has been limited, based on intermittently available, coarse-scale imagery. The aim of this study
was to assess the capabilities of the freely available Sentinel-2 sensor in monitoring inundated wetlands.
In particular, to demonstrate the ability to determine the maximum extent of inundation for reporting
on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15.1 (i.e., halting
biodiversity loss), the functional diversity and the hydrological regime of depressions were explored in the
Mpumalanga Lake District (MLD) of South Africa. Using the monthly inundation data derived from Sentinel-2
images between January 2016 and May 2018, the results showed that the maximum extent of open water
can be successfully reported for SDG 6.6. Lacustrine wetlands constituted about 47 of the 416 (but 66% of the
total areal extent of) depressions in the MLD, while others were predominantly palustrine (vegetated). The
functional diversity varied from predominantly (61% of the extent of) inundated depressions to seasonally
(3%) inundated depressions. The Sentinel-2 sensor was able to detect intra- and inter-annual variation of the
extent of inundation, making it suitable to monitor these wetlands for global and climate change impacts.
Description
Keywords
Aichi Target 11, Hydrological regime, Lacustrine wetlands, Mpumalanga Lake District (MLD), Open water monitoring, SDG-06: Clean water and sanitation, SDG-15: Life on land, Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Van Deventer, H., Linstrom, A., Durand, J.F. et al. 2022, 'Deriving the maximum extent and hydroperiod of open water from Sentinel-2 imagery
for global sustainability and biodiversity reporting for wetlands', Water SA, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 75-89, doi : 10.17159/wsa/2022.v48.i1.3883.