Observational Support for Regional Policy Implementation: Land Surface Change Under Anthropogenic and Climate Pressure in SALDi Study Sites

Abstract

South Africa is a vast, very diverse and dynamic country experiencing rapidly changing demands for the utilization of its natural resources. At the same time, global climate change and related processes affect the land’s agricultural utilization. The considerable expansion of high-resolution Earth observation systems providing high temporal resolution acquisitions of the land surface free of charge provides the opportunity to monitor land surface dynamics at an unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. Based on the work in the SPACES II project South Africa Land Degradation Monitor (SALDi) we present examples highlighting the new observational opportunities potentially supporting regional policy implementation. Thus, the main objective of this chapter is to present applied examples from the six SALDi study sites spread across the country illustrating some of the new capabilities providing simultaneously a regional overview of land surface dynamics as well as high-resolution information on specific areas, for example a district, a municipality, a farm or a specific field plot.