Use of remotely sensed data to estimate tree species diversity as an indicator of biodiversity in BloubergNature Reserve, South Africa

Abstract

We use remotely sensed data to estimate species diversity inBlouberg Nature Reserve (BNR) in the Limpopo province, SouthAfrica to understand the state of biodiversity since communities’involvement in conservation initiatives. To achieve this objective,Landsat series data collected before and after community involve-ment in biodiversity conservation were used in conjunction withselected diversity indices i.e., Shannon-Wiener Index (H’) andSimpson Index (D). Thirty 15m 15 mfield plots were selectedand all trees within each plot were identified, with the help ofBotanists. Further, we applied regression analysis to determinethe relationship between satellite derived tree species diversityandfield observations. The results of the study demonstrated asignificant (p<0.5) variation in tree species diversity between1990 and 2019.