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Hydrochemical characteristics of aquifers near Sutherland in the Western Karoo, South Africa

REA Auditado

The Western Karoo depends entirely on groundwater for domestic and agricultural use. An understanding of the chemical evolution of the groundwater provides insight into the interaction of water with the environment and contributes to better resource management. Descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and factor analysis, together with stable isotope data were used to gain an understanding of the hydrochemical processes of the groundwaters in the fractured rocks around Sutherland in the Western Karoo.

Tema: general: 

• Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas›Ingeniería›Ingeniería (General)

Comparison of plant diversity in protected and communal lands in the Bushbuckridge lowveld savanna, South Africa

REA Auditado

Patterns of higher plant species richness and beta diversity were assessed using standard Modified-Whittaker plots in relation to land use, slope position and mean annual rainfall across a rainfall gradient in the savanna areas of the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa. In particular, comparison of communal areas with adjacent protected areas was important in showing the impacts of potential changes in land use within an overarching catchment management plan.

Tema: general: 

• Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas›Ingeniería›Ingeniería (General)

Focus on CSIR research in water resource: Aquifer dependent ecosystems.

REA Auditado

Aquifer dependent ecosystems (ADEs) rely on groundwater in aquifers. They may occur where groundwater discharges from the aquifer to the surface environment, such as springs, wetlands and seeps, or where aquifers contribute to the base flow of rivers. In terrestrial and riparian ecosystems, groundwater is not seen at the surface but is tapped by plants and used as ‘cryptic’ discharge. ADEs are important indicators of aquifer health and flow regimes. An oasis is a classic ADE, and like many in arid and semi-arid areas, its distinctive ecohydrology makes it an important biodiversity hotspot.

Tema: general: 

• Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas›Ingeniería›Ingeniería (General)

Can linear trend analyses of NDVI time series data truly detect land degradation? Simulations may provide the answer

REA Auditado

There has been a recent proliferation of remote sensing-based trend analysis for monitoring regional desertification. These show contradictory results. All of them claim to have been “validated” through expert interpretation, in the absence of sufficient field data. The authors suggest that such an approach is not sufficiently rigorous. Therefore, they demonstrate an approach which simulates land degradation so that the intensity, rate and timing of the reduction in NDVI can be controlled, in order to quantitatively evaluate the ability of methods to detect these known changes.

Tema: general: 

• Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas›Ingeniería›Ingeniería (General)