Application of Satellite Imagery in the Differentiation of the Invasive Species of Nipa from Mangrove Vegetation
Journal Title: Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International - Year 2017, Vol 13, Issue 3
Abstract
Mangrove forests form one of the primary coastal ecosystems in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world with a high biodiversity value. Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to the Nigerian coasts, providing numerous biodiversity and ecosystem services and supporting coastal livelihoods within the Niger Delta. The gradual decline in the size of the Mangrove ecosystem, due to Nipa fruticans infestation, has spanned a period of over 40 years. So far, no quantitative estimate of loss of these Mangrove habitats has been carried out. This is as a result of the closeness in spectral characteristics between Nipa and different species of Mangrove and the difficulty of differentiating Nipa using earlier remote sensing products such as Landsat, JERS, Radarsat, SPOT and ERS. To address this gap, new satellite imagery was used to extract both textural and spectral information. This imagery, Pleiades and GeoEye-2, contained 16 high-resolution spectral bands that capture information in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR)for the first time. The study was validated with groundtruth surveys leading to the differentiation of Mangrove and Nipa in an area of interest measuring 162 sq. km along the Andoni River Estuary. From the results, major threats of Nipa to Biodiversity of the Mangrove were compiled. A ratio of 1:24 of Mangrove to Nipa within an area of over 16,200 hectares is indicative of a very high threat that can lead to extinction of Mangrove species. This TEXVEG tool’s capacity to determine loss of Mangrove species from Nipa infestation across the Niger Delta landscape will help environmental decision makers provide guidance for biodiversity conservation of Mangrove species. This technique has great potential for mitigating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities, especially in areas with low Mangrove diversity and high Mangrove area and species loss.
Authors and Affiliations
John Onwuteaka, Mike Uwagbae
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP321437
- DOI 10.9734/JGEESI/2017/38454
- Views 103
- Downloads 0
Estimation of Tropospheric Radio Refractivity and Its Variation with Meteorological Parameters over Ikeja, Nigeria
Estimation of radio refractivity is critical in the planning and design of radio links/systems for the purpose of achieving optimal performance. This present work investigates the tropospheric radio refractivity over Ike...
Environmental and Sanitary Impacts of Waste at Autonomous Port of Cotonou (Benin, West Africa)
Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the environmental and health impacts of poor waste management at the autonomous port of Cotonou, Benin. Materials and Methods: The socio-anthropological investigations were car...
Application of Electrical Resistivity in Building Foundation Study around Led School Area in Bishini, Northwestern Nigeria
This study evaluated the structural competence of the subsurface geological materials around Led School Area in Bishini, NW Nigeria to delineate the area that is suitable for building development. Twenty Seven vertical e...
Study of Rare Corrosion Forms Found in a Karst Syphon
The aim of this article is to describe two-dimensional scallops (scallops guided inside ribs) found in a syphon, to compare them to the ordinary three-dimensional corrosion forms frequently found in karst systems (scallo...
Sediment Transfer Variation Approach at Large Rural Watersheds Scale of Northern France
In the French “Nord-Pas-de-Calais” region, sediments suspended in runoff waters coming from rural watersheds play a major part in the turbidity of surface waters, silting up of streams, and silting of permanent structure...