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Impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe

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dc.contributor.advisor Nhamo, L.
dc.contributor.author Chapungu, Lazarus
dc.date.accessioned 2018-04-17T06:41:25Z
dc.date.available 2018-04-17T06:41:25Z
dc.date.issued 2017-08
dc.date.submitted 2018-04
dc.identifier.citation Chapungu, Lazarus (2017) Impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23781>
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23781
dc.description.abstract Vegetative species diversity is under threat from environmental pressures, particularly climate change. As the impacts of climate change vary from place to place, response of vegetative species diversity to a changing climate also vary depending on geographical location. The response of vegetative species diversity under dry conditions in Zimbabwe is not well known. This study assessed the impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity under semiarid conditions of Masvingo province in Zimbabwe. This was achieved by determining climate change trends over a period of forty years (1974-2014), and examining the relationship between vegetative species diversity and spatially interpolated climate data. The absence of historical diversity data prompted the use of remote sensing to enable the assessment of spatial and temporal changes. Thus, the Normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to assess vegetative species diversity changes after establishing a positive relationship between species diversity and NDVI. The mixed methods research design was used as the strategy of inquiry. The non-aligned block sampling design was used as the sampling framework from which 198 sampling points were identified. Meteorological data obtained from Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department (ZMSD) and the National Climate Data Centre (NCDC) were used for climate change analysis. Data collected through image analysis, direct observations, questionnaire surveys and interviews were used to assess the impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity. Results indicate that all temperature and precipitation variables have significant (p<0.05) trends over the period under study. However, the trend for seasonal total precipitation was not significant but declining. The significant trends indicate that climate change occurred over the period under study. 93% of the respondents confirmed having experienced the climate change phenomenon. Results also show a significant relationship between climate elements (precipitation and temperature) and vegetative species diversity represented by Shannon Weaver Index (H). More so, there is a positive relationship between NDVI and H. Vegetative species diversity represented by NDVI decreased over the period under review. The results indicate that climate change has contributed to the decrease of vegetative species diversity in Masvingo province, thus it is a force behind many other factors contributing to biodiversity loss. en
dc.format.extent 1 online resource (xii, 193 leaves) : maps (chiefly color), graphs (chiefly color)
dc.language.iso en en
dc.subject Climate change en
dc.subject Vegetative species en
dc.subject Species diversity en
dc.subject Remote sensing en
dc.subject Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) en
dc.subject Shannon weaver index en
dc.subject Simpson index en
dc.subject Mixed methods en
dc.subject Nonaligned block sampling design en
dc.subject National Climate Data Centre en
dc.subject Masvingo province en
dc.subject.ddc 571.89096891
dc.subject.lcsh Climatic changes -- Zimbabwe -- Masvingo Province en
dc.subject.lcsh Vegetation and climate -- Zimbabwe -- Masvingo Province en
dc.subject.lcsh Species diversity -- Zimbabwe -- Masvingo Province en
dc.subject.lcsh Remote sensing -- Zimbabwe -- Masvingo Province en
dc.subject.lcsh Mixed methods research -- Zimbabwe -- Masvingo Province en
dc.title Impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe en
dc.type Thesis en
dc.description.department College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences en
dc.description.degree Ph. D. (Environmental Sciences)


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    Electronic versions of theses and dissertations submitted to Unisa since 2003

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