Effects of large herbivores on savanna vegetation

Helena, Isabel, and Almut have published a new study in the journal Ecological Informatics titled Analysing the impact of large mammal herbivores on vegetation structure in Eastern African savannas combining high spatial resolution multispectral remote sensing data and field observations. The study explores the effect of large mammal herbivores on savanna vegetation using various measures of satellite images and collected field data.

The authors took advantage of published field data from an herbivore exclusion experiment in Kenya. These experiments provide valuable insights into herbivore impact on vegetation, how it has evolved, and how it might look in the future. However, their limitation lies in their small spatial and temporal scale. Remote sensing data can help bridge this gap—our group members have taken another step toward integrating remote sensing into ecological studies.