- Title
- Investigating changes in pineapple (Aananas comosus) cultivation in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, from 1984 to 2020
- Creator
- Marriner, Paul Joseph
- ThesisAdvisor
- Meiklejohn, I.
- Subject
- Uncatalogued
- Date
- 2024-04-04
- Type
- Academic theses
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/435354
- Identifier
- vital:73150
- Description
- Land use and land cover change (LULCC) resulting from agricultural activities have significantly impacted landscape transformation and fragmentation. The Albany Thicket Biome in the Eastern Cape Province stands out for its exceptional vegetation diversity and remarkable rates of species endemism. However, the relationship between agricultural activities and the Albany Thicket Biome has not received sufficient attention in the literature, creating a significant gap in understanding the extent of landscape transformation and the vegetation's recovery rate. This study aims to address this gap by utilising remote sensing technologies to investigate the LULCC specifically caused by pineapple cultivation in the Lower Albany area between 1984 and 2020. Analysis, using remotely sensed imagery and spatial analytical tools, provide accurate identification of pineapple fields and enable monitoring of their effects on LULCC dynamics across a wide spatial and temporal scale. Complementary field assessments examined the impacts of pineapple cultivation on land use and cover. Twelve image classifiers were tested to identify the most appropriate technique for mapping pineapple fields, and the Supervised Pixel-based Support Vector Machine (SVM) image classifier was found to be the most suitable. Utilising Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 satellite imagery, 27 land cover maps were created, spanning the period from 1984 to 2020. Additionally, field verification was conducted at 59 randomly generated sites to validate the findings. Spatial analysis of the data revealed that the pineapple industry in the study area has expanded by 733 hectares since 1984. Significant land use changes were observed, including converting land to wildlife ranches, grazing areas, and alternative agricultural practices. The land cover analysis identified the emergence of pioneer species in former pineapple fields, suggesting the potential for Albany Thicket regrowth if appropriately managed. This research contributes to a better understanding of the impacts of pineapple cultivation on the Albany Thicket Biome and provides valuable insights for land use planning and monitoring efforts. A comprehensive assessment of LULCC dynamics can be achieved by utilising remote sensing techniques, informing sustainable land management practices in the study area and beyond.
- Description
- Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Geography, 2024
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (160 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Geography
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Marriner, Paul Joseph
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike" License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MARRINER-MSC-TR24-43.pdf | 8 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |