Mbulisi Sibanda
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View article: Fine-scale mapping of irrigation suitability in South Africa using ensemble modelling
Fine-scale mapping of irrigation suitability in South Africa using ensemble modelling Open
Food insecurity, exacerbated by a growing population and environmental change, poses a significant challenge in Southern Africa. Enhancing agricultural productivity through efficient irrigation practices is crucial for achieving food and w…
View article: Assessing the Potential of Drone Remotely Sensed Data in Detecting the Soil Moisture Content and Taro Leaf Chlorophyll Content Across Different Phenological Stages
Assessing the Potential of Drone Remotely Sensed Data in Detecting the Soil Moisture Content and Taro Leaf Chlorophyll Content Across Different Phenological Stages Open
Soil moisture content is an important determinant of crop productivity, especially in agricultural systems that are dependent on rainfall. Climate variability has introduced water management challenges for smallholder farmers in Southern A…
View article: Multi-temporal analysis of taro crop water stress using high-resolution thermal and multispectral proximal sensing for improved resilience of smallholder farming systems
Multi-temporal analysis of taro crop water stress using high-resolution thermal and multispectral proximal sensing for improved resilience of smallholder farming systems Open
Taro, a neglected and underutilised crop, is identified as a promising future smart crop with significant potential to enhance food security while diversifying cropping systems. Despite its reported resilience to climate change impacts, ta…
View article: A Summary of Recent Advances in the Literature on Machine Learning Techniques for Remote Sensing of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) from Space
A Summary of Recent Advances in the Literature on Machine Learning Techniques for Remote Sensing of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) from Space Open
While groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) occupy only a small portion of the Earth’s surface, they hold significant ecological value by providing essential ecosystem services such as habitat for flora and fauna, carbon sequestration, a…
View article: Assessment of the Maize Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) Using Drone-Acquired Data Across Different Phenological Stages
Assessment of the Maize Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) Using Drone-Acquired Data Across Different Phenological Stages Open
The temperature-based crop water stress index (CWSI) is the most robust metric among precise techniques that assess the severity of crop water stress, particularly in susceptible crops like maize. This study used a unmanned aerial vehicle …
View article: Feminist Agroecology: Towards Gender-Equal and Sustainable Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
Feminist Agroecology: Towards Gender-Equal and Sustainable Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Open
Agriculture is pivotal in the global economy but is challenged by unsustainable practices that harm the environment and aggravate social inequalities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Women, making up half the agricultural workfor…
View article: UAV-based remote sensing of chlorophyll-a concentrations in inland water bodies: a systematic review
UAV-based remote sensing of chlorophyll-a concentrations in inland water bodies: a systematic review Open
Monitoring chlorophyll-a content is crucial for irrigation water quality, as excessive levels can harm water bodies and reduce their volumetric capacity due to algal growth. While satellite data enhances monitoring, its coarse resolution l…
View article: Remote Sensing Maize Water Stress in Smallholder Farms: A Systematic Review of Progress, Challenges, and the Way Forward Using Earth Observation Data
Remote Sensing Maize Water Stress in Smallholder Farms: A Systematic Review of Progress, Challenges, and the Way Forward Using Earth Observation Data Open
Maize ( Zea mays L.) is a staple food crop that smallholder farmers mostly cultivate under rain-fed conditions in Southern Africa. Despite significant contributions to food production by smallholder farmers, they face climate change-relate…
View article: Assessing Drone-Based Remote Sensing for Monitoring Water Temperature, Suspended Solids and CDOM in Inland Waters: A Global Systematic Review of Challenges and Opportunities
Assessing Drone-Based Remote Sensing for Monitoring Water Temperature, Suspended Solids and CDOM in Inland Waters: A Global Systematic Review of Challenges and Opportunities Open
Monitoring water quality is crucial for understanding aquatic ecosystem health and changes in physical, chemical, and microbial water quality standards. Water quality critically influences industrial, agricultural, and domestic uses of wat…
View article: Visions of sustainable development and the future of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (and beyond)
Visions of sustainable development and the future of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (and beyond) Open
Smallholder farmers are widely touted as essential to sustainable agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. But what exactly is meant by sustainable development, and how are smallholder farmers expected to contribute to it…
View article: A critical review of literature on remote sensing grass quality during the senescence phenological stage
A critical review of literature on remote sensing grass quality during the senescence phenological stage Open
This article provides a critical review of progress, challenges, emerging gaps as well as future recommendations on the remote sensing of grass quality during the senescence phenological stage. The study adopted a critical approach and ana…
View article: A systematic review on the application of UAV-based thermal remote sensing for assessing and monitoring crop water status in crop farming systems
A systematic review on the application of UAV-based thermal remote sensing for assessing and monitoring crop water status in crop farming systems Open
The accurate assessment and monitoring of crop water status is a critical component of precision agriculture. Over the recent decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) integrated with high-resolution thermal technologies, have pioneered a ne…
View article: Remote sensing crop water productivity and water use for sustainable agriculture during extreme weather events in South Africa
Remote sensing crop water productivity and water use for sustainable agriculture during extreme weather events in South Africa Open
The impact of climate variability and extreme weather events on agricultural productivity in arid environments has become a focal point in contemporary research. Monitoring crop water productivity (CWP) is critical and urgently required es…
View article: Using multisource remotely sensed data and cloud computing approaches to map non-native species in the semi-arid savannah rangelands of Mpumalanga, South Africa
Using multisource remotely sensed data and cloud computing approaches to map non-native species in the semi-arid savannah rangelands of Mpumalanga, South Africa Open
Semi-arid savannah rangelands are diverse environments (in terms of species) that play an important role in sustaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. However, the emergence of non-native species, as well as bush encroachmen…
View article: Exploring the Potential of Remote Sensing to Facilitate Integrated Weed Management in Smallholder Farms: A Scoping Review
Exploring the Potential of Remote Sensing to Facilitate Integrated Weed Management in Smallholder Farms: A Scoping Review Open
In light of a growing population and climate change compounding existing pressures on the agri-food system, there is a growing need to diversify agri-food systems and optimize the productivity and diversity of smallholder farming systems t…
View article: Crop mapping in smallholder farms using unmanned aerial vehicle imagery and geospatial cloud computing infrastructure
Crop mapping in smallholder farms using unmanned aerial vehicle imagery and geospatial cloud computing infrastructure Open
View article: Comparing Machine Learning Algorithms for Estimating the Maize Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) Using UAV-Acquired Remotely Sensed Data in Smallholder Croplands
Comparing Machine Learning Algorithms for Estimating the Maize Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) Using UAV-Acquired Remotely Sensed Data in Smallholder Croplands Open
Monitoring and mapping crop water stress and variability at a farm scale for cereals such as maize, one of the most common crops in developing countries with 200 million people around the world, is an important objective within precision a…
View article: Comparing the Utility of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) on Sentinel-2 MSI to Estimate Dry Season Aboveground Grass Biomass
Comparing the Utility of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) on Sentinel-2 MSI to Estimate Dry Season Aboveground Grass Biomass Open
Grasslands are biomes of significant fiscal, social and environmental value. Grassland or rangeland management often monitors and manages grassland productivity. Productivity is determined by various biophysical parameters, one such being …
View article: Geospatial and Machine Learning Framework for Delineating Potential Groundwater-Dependent Vegetation Zones in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Geospatial and Machine Learning Framework for Delineating Potential Groundwater-Dependent Vegetation Zones in Kruger National Park, South Africa Open
View article: Enhancing Target Crop Discrimination: A Novel Shadow Detection Technique for Rgb Datasets in Mixed Agricultural Environments
Enhancing Target Crop Discrimination: A Novel Shadow Detection Technique for Rgb Datasets in Mixed Agricultural Environments Open
View article: Understanding the spatio-temporal distribution of bush encroachment in savannah rangelands, South Africa
Understanding the spatio-temporal distribution of bush encroachment in savannah rangelands, South Africa Open
Bush encroachment threatens rangelands’ biodiversity and productivity, impacting savannah ecosystems based on location, management practices, and factors like erratic rainfall, climate change, and environmental variability. Considering the…
View article: EXPLORING THE PROSPECTS OF UAV-REMOTELY SENSED DATA IN ESTIMATING PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE CROPS IN TYPICAL SMALLHOLDER FARMS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
EXPLORING THE PROSPECTS OF UAV-REMOTELY SENSED DATA IN ESTIMATING PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE CROPS IN TYPICAL SMALLHOLDER FARMS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA Open
This study estimated maize grain biomass, and grain biomass as a proportion of the absolute maize plant biomass using UAV-derived multispectral data. Results showed that UAV-derived data could accurately predict yield with R2 ranging from …
View article: Quantifying Aboveground Grass Biomass Using Space-Borne Sensors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review
Quantifying Aboveground Grass Biomass Using Space-Borne Sensors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review Open
Recently, the move from cost-tied to open-access data has led to the mushrooming of research in pursuit of algorithms for estimating the aboveground grass biomass (AGGB). Nevertheless, a comprehensive synthesis or direction on the mileston…
View article: A Systematic Review of UAV Applications for Mapping Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species’ Spatial Distribution and Health
A Systematic Review of UAV Applications for Mapping Neglected and Underutilised Crop Species’ Spatial Distribution and Health Open
Timely, accurate spatial information on the health of neglected and underutilised crop species (NUS) is critical for optimising their production and food and nutrition in developing countries. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with …
View article: Remote sensing hail damage on maize crops in smallholder farms using data acquired by remotely piloted aircraft system
Remote sensing hail damage on maize crops in smallholder farms using data acquired by remotely piloted aircraft system Open
Smallholder farmers reside in marginal environments typified by dryland maize-based farming systems. Despite the significant contribution of smallholder farmers to food production, they are vulnerable to extreme weather events such as hail…
View article: Fine-scale characterization of irrigated and rainfed croplands at national scale using multi-source data, random forest, and deep learning algorithms
Fine-scale characterization of irrigated and rainfed croplands at national scale using multi-source data, random forest, and deep learning algorithms Open
Knowledge of the extent and distribution of irrigated and rainfed croplands is critical in providing the necessary baseline data for enhancing agricultural efficiency and making informed policy decisions. Accurately identifying and mapping…
View article: Quantifying Aboveground Grass Biomass Using Space-Borne Sensors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review
Quantifying Aboveground Grass Biomass Using Space-Borne Sensors: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review Open
Recently, the move from cost-tied to open-access data has led to the mushrooming of research in pursuit of algorithms for estimating aboveground grass biomass (AGGB). Nevertheless, a comprehensive synthesis or direction on the milestones a…
View article: Remote Sensing Grassland Productivity Attributes: A Systematic Review
Remote Sensing Grassland Productivity Attributes: A Systematic Review Open
A third of the land on the Earth is composed of grasslands, mainly used for forage. Much effort is being conducted to develop tools to estimate grassland productivity (GP) at different extents, concentrating on spatial and seasonal variabi…
View article: Assessing the Prospects of Remote Sensing Maize Leaf Area Index Using UAV-Derived Multi-Spectral Data in Smallholder Farms across the Growing Season
Assessing the Prospects of Remote Sensing Maize Leaf Area Index Using UAV-Derived Multi-Spectral Data in Smallholder Farms across the Growing Season Open
Maize (Zea Mays) is one of the most valuable food crops in sub-Saharan Africa and is a critical component of local, national and regional economies. Whereas over 50% of maize production in the region is produced by smallholder farmers, spa…
View article: Inter-Seasonal Estimation of Grass Water Content Indicators Using Multisource Remotely Sensed Data Metrics and the Cloud-Computing Google Earth Engine Platform
Inter-Seasonal Estimation of Grass Water Content Indicators Using Multisource Remotely Sensed Data Metrics and the Cloud-Computing Google Earth Engine Platform Open
Indicators of grass water content (GWC) have a significant impact on eco-hydrological processes such as evapotranspiration and rainfall interception. Several site-specific factors such as seasonal precipitation, temperature, and topographi…