Mapping of Shore Area Wetlands in Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia Using Sentinel-1A SAR and Multi-Source Data

Wondim, Y. K.; Melese, A. W.; Assefa, W. W.

doi:10.1101/2024.12.30.630805

Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.12.30.630805

Mapping of Shore Area Wetlands in Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia Using Sentinel-1A SAR and Multi-Source Data

Wondim, Y. K.·Melese, A. W.·Assefa, W. W.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Shore area wetlands (lacustrine fringe) play a critical role as ecotones that support biodiversity, provide habitats for spawning and refuge, and exhibit high levels of primary productivity. They facilitate significant exchanges of materials between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. To effectively manage and preserve these important resources, it is essential to understand their distribution, size, and dynamic changes. This study aimed to create an accurate map of shoreline wetlands using multi-temporal and multi-source data, wetland indicators (hydrology, vegetation, hydric soils), and radar imagery from Sentinel-1A, employing Geomatica software. Additionally, ArcGIS software was used to map the topographic position, Lake Bathymetry, and hydric soil indicators for wetlands. The analytical hierarchy process and weighted overlay methods were also applied in the mapping process for integrating all the indicators to obtain the final extent of shoreline wetlands. The topography position wetland indicator map covered about 55,364ha, while hydric soils covered around 55,151 ha within a 3 km buffer from Lake Tana. The map of hydrology indicator for wetlands revealed that permanently inundated areas accounted for roughly 591,312 ha, and when temporarily inundated areas were included, the total coverage increased to 607,053 ha. Hydrophytic vegetation, including invasive water hyacinth, covered over 74,772 ha. Overall, shoreline wetlands were predominantly located within three kilometers of the terrestrial area from Lake Tana, totaling 26,664 ha. The overall accuracy of land use and cover classification was recorded at 79%, with a Kappa statistic of 0.70, indicating that the resulting map is of acceptable quality. The integration of multi-temporal and multi-source data, along with wetland indicators and radar imagery from Sentinel-1A using Geomatica software, has provided valuable insights into the spatial distribution of shoreline wetlands in Lake Tana. The findings from this study will serve as an important reference for future research aimed at effectively managing and conserving these vital resources.

Explore related subjects

ecology Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Wondim, Y. K., Melese, A. W., Assefa, W. W.. 2024-12-31. Mapping of Shore Area Wetlands in Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia Using Sentinel-1A SAR and Multi-Source Data. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.30.630805

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Species-composition distributions under competition, ecological drift and immigration

Understanding how species interactions, ecological drift, and immigration jointly shape community composition is a central goal of community ecology. These processes determine not only average community composition, but also how often different community states occur. Here, we ask how competition reshapes the neutral distribution of community composition generated by drift and immigration. We analyze a stochastic two-species competition model with immigration and derive the stationary distribution of relative species composition near neutrality. The stationary distribution shows when communities are usually balanced and when they are instead dominated by one species. Species dominance can become common even when the corresponding deterministic model predicts stable coexistence, particularly in smaller communities. Balanced and dominance states can also occur together, producing a trimodal distribution. Competitive asymmetry further biases the distribution toward the competitively favored species. Thus, the interplay between competition, ecological drift, and immigration determines not only how much community composition varies, but also which community states are most likely to be observed. Our results provide an analytical bridge between neutral and competition theory and a framework for interpreting variation in community composition.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Floristic composition, phenology, and conservation value of four peat bogs in Bucovina, with the presence of Betula nana

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the floristic composition and site characteristics of four peat bogs in Bucovina, Romania: Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, Saru Dornei, and Gaina-Lucina. The research was based on phytosociological releves on 25 msq plots and direct field phenological observations, on six field visits from May to August 2026. Vegetation was characterised using the Braun Blanquet method, and floristic similarity between sites was assessed with the Sorensen and Bray Curtis indices. All four plots shared a common core of taxa characteristic of peatland vegetation: Sphagnum spp., Carex rostrata, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum, and Vaccinium species. Species richness was 13 taxa at Poiana Stampei, Romanesti, and Saru Dornei, and 12 at Gaina-Lucina. Romanesti and Saru Dornei showed the highest floristic similarity (descriptive values, not statistically tested, given a single releve per site), while Gaina-Lucina differed most markedly, not through species richness, which was similar across sites, but through species identity and through the presence of Betula nana, a glacial relict absent from the other sites. The results provide a descriptive basis for future research on the floristic composition and conservation of these habitats.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Long-Term Surveillance Reveals Establishment of Aedes albopictus in Eastern Nebraska, USA

Aedes albopictus (Skuse), the Asian tiger mosquito, is a highly competent arboviral vector whose range has expanded substantially across the United States over the past four decades. Despite predictive models placing Nebraska within the species' climatically suitable range, its establishment status in the state has remained poorly characterized. Here, we report results from a nine-year mosquito surveillance program (2017-2025) conducted across 44 Nebraska counties in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Ae. albopictus was detected in five counties, with sustained, annually increasing populations documented in Richardson, Douglas, and Lancaster counties. Richardson County recorded continuous detections during 2017-2025, with proportional representation rising to 60.50% of collected mosquitoes by 2025. In Douglas and Lancaster counties, temporal advancement of first seasonal detection in 2024 and 2025 provide evidence consistent with successful overwintering rather than annual reintroduction. A cumulative degree-day model predicted adult emergence in mid-May across all county-year combinations, consistently preceding trap deployment by two to seven weeks and revealing a systematic early-season surveillance gap. Generalized linear mixed-effects models indicated that trap-level detection persistence, rather than urban location, was the primary predictor of yearly Ae. albopictus positivity, suggesting that current invasion dynamics are driven by focal source populations. These findings provide strong evidence for the establishment of Ae. albopictus in eastern Nebraska and highlight the need for earlier seasonal surveillance and standardized criteria to define establishment in northward-expanding vector populations.

ecology↗