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Dr Val Munsami, Manager: Space Science and Technology of the Department of Science and Technology with best presenter Karen Steenkamp; she holds a painting of Stresa, the prize for best presentation at the 33th ISRSE event
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Karen Steenkamp, a remote sensing specialist of the remote sensing research unit at the CSIR's Meraka Institute, was awarded a prize for best presentation out of more than 300 candidates at the 33rd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment, held in Stresa, Italy, early in May 2009.
Steenkamp's 's presentation, 'Satellite derived phenology of southern Africa for 1985-2000 and functional classification of vegetation based on phenometrics', covers research conducted by a group of remote sensing specialists and ecologists at the CSIR. The award acknowledges both the quality of their cutting-edge research as well as the eloquence and conviction with which Steenkamp delivered the presentation.
The topic of this winning presentation deals with the advantages of using remotely-sensed vegetation phenology to capture spatial and seasonal patterns of vegetation activity through repetitive satellite observations, over vast areas. Steenkamp explains, "Changes in vegetation phenology will be one of the first indicators of impacts caused by climate change and could signal changes in biome distribution. Therefore, we need to understand the general long-term patterns and inter-annual variability in vegetation phenology."
Vegetation phenology examines life cycle events (e.g. bud burst, flowering and leaf senescence or ageing). The team used 1 km resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer vegetation index data for the period 1985-2000. Phenometrics were extracted from the vegetation index time series to describe seasonal growth in terms of dates such as start, end and length of season, and productivity estimates such as the large integral that relates to net primary production. "It is amazing to process 16 years of daily satellite data to the point where it can provide a picture of regional vegetation patterns," says Steenkamp.
The newly defined biomes of South Africa include grassland, savanna, fynbos, Nama Karoo and desert, and were mapped based on the grouping of the more detailed vegetation types (based on plant species distribution data), as well as climate data. "Our research allowed us to reproduce this biome map derived from the remotely-sensed phenometrics, thus providing insight into the phenological differences between biomes in terms of vegetation function and dynamics," Steenkamp points out. This technique helps to close the gap that existed between plot-level vegetation data and broad-scale climate data during traditional regional vegetation mapping.
South Africa was well represented at this event by a high-level delegation from the Department of Science and Technology, led by Director General Dr Phil Mjwara who delivered a plenary lecture, 'Global issues, global responses: The GEO process'.
Steenkamp's present research focuses on incorporating remotely-sensed phenology into fire danger ratings. Currently, this relies on only meteorological data and vegetation fuel characterisation based on field observations.
Enquiries: CSIR Communication
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