Integrating Dendrochronology, Climate and Satellite Remote Sensing to Better Understand Savanna Landscape Dynamics in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Jane Southworth, Lesley Rigg, Cerian Gibbes, Peter Waylen, Likai Zhu, Shannon McCarragher and Lin Cassidy
Additional contact information
Jane Southworth: Department of Geography and the Land Use and Environmental Change Institute (LUECI), University of Florida, TUR 3141, PO Box 117315, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Lesley Rigg: Department of Geography, Northern Illinois University, Davis Hall 601, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
Cerian Gibbes: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA
Peter Waylen: Department of Geography and the Land Use and Environmental Change Institute (LUECI), University of Florida, TUR 3141, PO Box 117315, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Likai Zhu: Department of Geography and the Land Use and Environmental Change Institute (LUECI), University of Florida, TUR 3141, PO Box 117315, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Shannon McCarragher: Department of Geography, Northern Illinois University, Davis Hall 601, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
Lin Cassidy: Okavango Research Institute (ORI), Maun, Botswana

Land, 2013, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: This research examines the integration and potential uses of linkages between climate dynamics, savanna vegetation and landscape level processes within a highly vulnerable region, both in terms of climate variability and social systems. We explore the combined applications of two time-series methodologies: (1) climate signals detected in tree ring growth, from published literature, chronologies from the International Tree-Ring Data Bank, and minimal preliminary field data; and (2) new primary production (NPP) data of vegetation cover over time derived from remotely sensed analyses. Both time-series are related to the regional patterns of precipitation, the principle driver of plant growth in the area. The approach is temporally and spatially multiscalar and examines the relationships between vegetation cover, type and amount, and precipitation shifts. We review literature linking dendrochronology, climate, and remotely sensed imagery, and, in addition, provide unique preliminary analyses from a dry study site located on the outer limit of the Okavango Delta. The work demonstrates integration across the different data sources, to provide a more holistic view of landscape level processes occurring in the last 30-50 years. These results corroborate the water-limited nature of the region and the dominance of precipitation in controlling vegetation growth. We present this integrative analysis of vegetation and climate change, as a prospective approach to facilitate the development of long-term climate/vegetation change records across multiple scales.

Keywords: dendrochronology; time-series analysis; NPP; precipitation; savanna (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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