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Full catalog/BioSCape_EstuaryVegHabitats_2441
BioSCape_EstuaryVegHabitats_2441·v1·dataset

Wetland plants and habitat maps in South African estuaries

BioSCape Estuary Wetland Vegetation Plot Data and Habitat Extents, South Africa
biosphere NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 3 multiple
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed information on coastal wetland plants in South African estuaries, including which species grow where, how much ground they cover, plant heights, salinity, and soil temperature, plus maps of three wetland habitat types across 84 estuaries.

How it's made. Combines field surveys done in late 2023 with habitat maps made from PlanetScope satellite images sorted by an automated image-recognition method, created during the BioSCape campaign.

How & where you'd use it. Helps with mapping and protecting coastal wetlands and supports analysis of airborne imaging and laser data from the same campaign.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION SPECIESBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › MARINE ECOSYSTEMS › ESTUARYBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS › WETLANDSBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › MARINE ECOSYSTEMS › COASTALBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS › WETLANDSBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION COVER

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2023-10-23 → 2024-01-31
  • Measured byFIELD SURVEYS (SURVEYING TOOLS) · PlanetScope (PlanetScope)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent16.4411, -34.775, 25.7011, -28.5547
  • Formatsmultiple
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

This dataset provides vegetation information for 64 coastal wetland plots and coastal wetland extent maps for three habitat classes in 84 estuaries in South Africa. The vegetation plot data include vegetation species occurrence, percent cover, salinity, representative vegetation heights, porewater salinity, and ground temperature. In situ plot data were collected between October 27 and November 10, 2023, in Swartvlei Estuary, Wilderness Lakes, Knynsa Estuary, and Langebaan Lagoon within lands administered by the South African National Parks. The habitat extent maps were created for 84 estuaries across the Greater Cape Floristic Region. The classification is a single point in time representing the growing season when the plot data were collected (December 2023-January 2024). The habitat extent data were created with PlanetScope satellite classified with a U-Net semantic segmentation algorithm. The habitats classified are salt marsh, submerged aquatic vegetation, and reeds & sedges. Plot and habitat data were collected and created to inform analysis of the imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR data collected as part of the BioSCape field campaign. The data are provided in cloud optimized GeoTIFF, comma separated values, and geopackage formats.

Get the data

bioscape_estuaryveghabitats_2441_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="BioSCape_EstuaryVegHabitats_2441",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.