World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Ge... more The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was positively validated to spatially assess soil erosion risk in the Taung Watershed of Ramotswa Agricultural District during the period 2000 – 2020. The estimated annual soil erosion averaged 12.04 and 12.74 t/ha/year in 2000 and 2020, respectively. The Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and soil type were found to be key determinants of high soil erosion hazard when using RUSLE. The soil erosion assessment tools enabled prioritization of high erosion prone areas in the study area for soil conservation planning and watershed management.
Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances
The Soil Loss Estimation Model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) model integrated with Remote Sensing ... more The Soil Loss Estimation Model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was positively validated to spatially assess soil erosion risk in the Taung Watershed of Ramotswa Agricultural District during the period 2000 – 2020. The estimated annual soil erosion averaged 11.77 and 12.57 t/ha/year in 2000 and 2020, respectively. The Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and topography were found to be key determinants of high soil erosion risk when using SLEMSA. The soil erosion assessment tools enabled prioritization of high erosion prone areas in the study area for soil conservation planning and watershed management.
World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
Soils are a potentially viable sink for atmospheric carbon and could contribute to mitigating glo... more Soils are a potentially viable sink for atmospheric carbon and could contribute to mitigating global climate change. Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content exhibits considerable spatial variability both horizontally (land use) and vertically (soil profile). Land cover land use (LCLU) is one of the key determinants of SOC stock, hence there is a significant variation of SOC across different LCLUs. This study aimed to investigate the spatial variability of SOC across different LCLUs in the Greater Gaborone region of Botswana. Remotely sensed data used for image classification was obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Explorer (www.usgs.gov). The imagery used in this study was Sentinel-2A obtained in the month of March with cloud content of less than 10% for easy interpretation. Image classification was done using a supervised classification method based on a Maximum Likelihood classifier. The major LCLU types identified in the area included water bodies, trees domi...
World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
A study was carried out during 2022 to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting for sustainin... more A study was carried out during 2022 to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting for sustaining small-scale irrigated coffee farming in the Bigasha watershed of Isingiro District, south-western Uganda. In this study, remote sensing, Geographical Information System (GIS), the Quantum GIS Soil and Water Assessment Tool (QSWAT+) and Crop Water and Irrigation Requirements Program (CROPWAT) models were utilised to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting (RWH) that can be used for irrigation. The criteria used to identify suitable RWH sites were based on four factors namely; topography, soils, land use land cover and rainfall. It was found out that seventy per cent of the watershed is hilly with slopes greater than 10 per cent and half of the area is covered by Leptosols. Three temporal land use land cover (LULC) maps (of 1999, 2010 and 2022), were derived using the K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. These LULC databases were used to assess the impacts of land use land cover chan...
This paper estimates bare area gain detected using cloud free Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 8 (OLI... more This paper estimates bare area gain detected using cloud free Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 8 (OLI) in Botswana. From 2002 to 2020, agricultural fields shrunk by 76.4%, while built-up increased by 49.2%, and bare areas increased from 3.32% to 7.03% (or 111.7%). There is a significant seasonal change in bare area detected reaching maximum during the dry season when there is little or no ground cover. In this study, the seasonality of bare area gain was overcome by only considering a bare area pixel to contribute to bare area gain if it exists during both the winter and summer months. The probability of bare area detection was 75.0% and probability of false detection 13.3% respectively. The 13% false detection tended to be built-up areas which had similar spectral characteristics as bare areas since most built-up areas have no ground cover. The bare area gain is driven by the high population growth rate of 3.4%. From 2001 to 2017, the population of the study area has increased by 34% a...
Service (SCS) and the two models commonly used for estimating rainfall-runoff in south-eastern Bo... more Service (SCS) and the two models commonly used for estimating rainfall-runoff in south-eastern Botswana
Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Sep 8, 2014
A study to document indigenous knowledge (IK) and best-bet practices (BBPs)was carried out during... more A study to document indigenous knowledge (IK) and best-bet practices (BBPs)was carried out during Phase I (2003-2004) of Desert Margins Programme (DMP), whose overall objective is to arrest land degradation in the desert margins of Africa through demonstration and capacity building activities. The documentation work was executed in Bobirwa Sub-district and Kgalagadi District using a structured questionnaire, the sample size of which depended on the identification ability of initial informants for more respondents. The study showed the importance of IK on the effective functioning of the traditional leadership to monitor-and-ensure adherence. Traditional leadership played an important role in protecting some animals and trees and continuously ensured there were active advisors to assist in monitoring the environment. The study further showed that past (indigenous and best-bet) practices were labour intensive and capable of exploiting limited amounts of natural resources which could only satisfy the needs at household level. The predominant existing practices in both districts are the vegetation practices. These practices such as selective cutting of trees, grass cutting using hands or sickle, and harvesting medicinal roots/tubers by replacing soil thereafter, have contributed to sound management of natural resources. Arable practices have, however, undergone some phenomenal transformation including use of tractors for cultivating large areas across the slope. Expanding human population and its associated demands on the environment necessitate the impending need to realign conflicting legislation and implement environment-compatible policies to sustain existing BBPs. Keywords : Botswana, indigenous knowledge (IK), past and existing best-bet practices (BBPs), sustainable natural resources management
Optical spectral reflectance and image analysis techniques were investigated as possible solution... more Optical spectral reflectance and image analysis techniques were investigated as possible solutions to discriminate crop and weed plants. The range of pants included two brassica crop species, a cereal crop and eight weed species. Spectral signatures were obtained form ...
Africa has sparse meteorological stations, hence it is increasingly common to use satellite-deriv... more Africa has sparse meteorological stations, hence it is increasingly common to use satellite-derived meteorological parameters, where in-situ measuremnts are not available. The objective of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between sorghum yield and meteorological parameters (measured and satellite-derived). Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) yield for five seasons (2005/6 to 2009/10) from the Botswana Department of Crop Production Station in Pandamatenga, actual rainfall from the Botswana Meteorologial Services, and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Satellite Rainfall Estimates (RFEs) data from Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) were used in this study to determine relationships between the yield and satellite derived estimates. Although the NDVI and RFEs data were available for 2005 to 2011 (6 seasons), the limiting factor was the actual yield data which were only available for 2005 to 2010 (5 seasons). The Pearson Correlations Coefficient be...
World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Ge... more The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was positively validated to spatially assess soil erosion risk in the Taung Watershed of Ramotswa Agricultural District during the period 2000 – 2020. The estimated annual soil erosion averaged 12.04 and 12.74 t/ha/year in 2000 and 2020, respectively. The Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and soil type were found to be key determinants of high soil erosion hazard when using RUSLE. The soil erosion assessment tools enabled prioritization of high erosion prone areas in the study area for soil conservation planning and watershed management.
Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances
The Soil Loss Estimation Model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) model integrated with Remote Sensing ... more The Soil Loss Estimation Model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) model integrated with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) was positively validated to spatially assess soil erosion risk in the Taung Watershed of Ramotswa Agricultural District during the period 2000 – 2020. The estimated annual soil erosion averaged 11.77 and 12.57 t/ha/year in 2000 and 2020, respectively. The Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and topography were found to be key determinants of high soil erosion risk when using SLEMSA. The soil erosion assessment tools enabled prioritization of high erosion prone areas in the study area for soil conservation planning and watershed management.
World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
Soils are a potentially viable sink for atmospheric carbon and could contribute to mitigating glo... more Soils are a potentially viable sink for atmospheric carbon and could contribute to mitigating global climate change. Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content exhibits considerable spatial variability both horizontally (land use) and vertically (soil profile). Land cover land use (LCLU) is one of the key determinants of SOC stock, hence there is a significant variation of SOC across different LCLUs. This study aimed to investigate the spatial variability of SOC across different LCLUs in the Greater Gaborone region of Botswana. Remotely sensed data used for image classification was obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Explorer (www.usgs.gov). The imagery used in this study was Sentinel-2A obtained in the month of March with cloud content of less than 10% for easy interpretation. Image classification was done using a supervised classification method based on a Maximum Likelihood classifier. The major LCLU types identified in the area included water bodies, trees domi...
World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences
A study was carried out during 2022 to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting for sustainin... more A study was carried out during 2022 to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting for sustaining small-scale irrigated coffee farming in the Bigasha watershed of Isingiro District, south-western Uganda. In this study, remote sensing, Geographical Information System (GIS), the Quantum GIS Soil and Water Assessment Tool (QSWAT+) and Crop Water and Irrigation Requirements Program (CROPWAT) models were utilised to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting (RWH) that can be used for irrigation. The criteria used to identify suitable RWH sites were based on four factors namely; topography, soils, land use land cover and rainfall. It was found out that seventy per cent of the watershed is hilly with slopes greater than 10 per cent and half of the area is covered by Leptosols. Three temporal land use land cover (LULC) maps (of 1999, 2010 and 2022), were derived using the K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. These LULC databases were used to assess the impacts of land use land cover chan...
This paper estimates bare area gain detected using cloud free Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 8 (OLI... more This paper estimates bare area gain detected using cloud free Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 8 (OLI) in Botswana. From 2002 to 2020, agricultural fields shrunk by 76.4%, while built-up increased by 49.2%, and bare areas increased from 3.32% to 7.03% (or 111.7%). There is a significant seasonal change in bare area detected reaching maximum during the dry season when there is little or no ground cover. In this study, the seasonality of bare area gain was overcome by only considering a bare area pixel to contribute to bare area gain if it exists during both the winter and summer months. The probability of bare area detection was 75.0% and probability of false detection 13.3% respectively. The 13% false detection tended to be built-up areas which had similar spectral characteristics as bare areas since most built-up areas have no ground cover. The bare area gain is driven by the high population growth rate of 3.4%. From 2001 to 2017, the population of the study area has increased by 34% a...
Service (SCS) and the two models commonly used for estimating rainfall-runoff in south-eastern Bo... more Service (SCS) and the two models commonly used for estimating rainfall-runoff in south-eastern Botswana
Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Sep 8, 2014
A study to document indigenous knowledge (IK) and best-bet practices (BBPs)was carried out during... more A study to document indigenous knowledge (IK) and best-bet practices (BBPs)was carried out during Phase I (2003-2004) of Desert Margins Programme (DMP), whose overall objective is to arrest land degradation in the desert margins of Africa through demonstration and capacity building activities. The documentation work was executed in Bobirwa Sub-district and Kgalagadi District using a structured questionnaire, the sample size of which depended on the identification ability of initial informants for more respondents. The study showed the importance of IK on the effective functioning of the traditional leadership to monitor-and-ensure adherence. Traditional leadership played an important role in protecting some animals and trees and continuously ensured there were active advisors to assist in monitoring the environment. The study further showed that past (indigenous and best-bet) practices were labour intensive and capable of exploiting limited amounts of natural resources which could only satisfy the needs at household level. The predominant existing practices in both districts are the vegetation practices. These practices such as selective cutting of trees, grass cutting using hands or sickle, and harvesting medicinal roots/tubers by replacing soil thereafter, have contributed to sound management of natural resources. Arable practices have, however, undergone some phenomenal transformation including use of tractors for cultivating large areas across the slope. Expanding human population and its associated demands on the environment necessitate the impending need to realign conflicting legislation and implement environment-compatible policies to sustain existing BBPs. Keywords : Botswana, indigenous knowledge (IK), past and existing best-bet practices (BBPs), sustainable natural resources management
Optical spectral reflectance and image analysis techniques were investigated as possible solution... more Optical spectral reflectance and image analysis techniques were investigated as possible solutions to discriminate crop and weed plants. The range of pants included two brassica crop species, a cereal crop and eight weed species. Spectral signatures were obtained form ...
Africa has sparse meteorological stations, hence it is increasingly common to use satellite-deriv... more Africa has sparse meteorological stations, hence it is increasingly common to use satellite-derived meteorological parameters, where in-situ measuremnts are not available. The objective of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between sorghum yield and meteorological parameters (measured and satellite-derived). Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) yield for five seasons (2005/6 to 2009/10) from the Botswana Department of Crop Production Station in Pandamatenga, actual rainfall from the Botswana Meteorologial Services, and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Satellite Rainfall Estimates (RFEs) data from Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) were used in this study to determine relationships between the yield and satellite derived estimates. Although the NDVI and RFEs data were available for 2005 to 2011 (6 seasons), the limiting factor was the actual yield data which were only available for 2005 to 2010 (5 seasons). The Pearson Correlations Coefficient be...
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