Using Landsat, Sentinel-1 and -2 and GEE to assess changes in wetland Ecosystem Functional Groups in the Maputaland Coastal Plain of South Africa

Apleni, PNaidoo, LTsele, PVan Deventer, Heidi2026-09-072026-09-072026-122215-0161https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2026.104132http://hdl.handle.net/10204/14931Consistent monitoring of wetland Ecosystem Functional Groups (EFGs) over large areas and long periods remains challenging owing to uneven availability, varying spatial resolutions, and spectral similarity of some EFGs. A Google Earth Engine (GEE)-based Earth Observation workflow was developed to map and quantify changes in wetland EFGs across the Maputaland Coastal Plain (MCP) in South Africa. The study included Landsat imagery for 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2014; and Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery for 2018, 2020 and 2022.FulltextEarth ObservationGlobal Biodiversity FrameworkGBFGoogle Earth EngineGEERandom ForestRemote SensingMaputaland Coastal PlainUsing Landsat, Sentinel-1 and -2 and GEE to assess changes in wetland Ecosystem Functional Groups in the Maputaland Coastal Plain of South AfricaArticleN/A