Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

One of Mozambique's most important conservation sites, Gorongosa National Park has seen critical ecological changes over the past several decades resulting from climate variability, habitat loss, and political instability. This research integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing to examine the relationship between vegetation dynamics and wildlife population, and distribution. The main goals of this study are to evaluate the spatial distribution of particular wildlife species: buffalo (Syncerus caffer), elephant (Loxodonta africana), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), and zebra (Equus quagga), and determine the impact of vegetation density and land cover on their habitat choices from 1988 to 2018. Results indicate that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) decreased between 1988 and 2008; dry season NDVI decreased by 27%, while wet season NDVI decreased by 33.06%, most likely due to habitat destruction. However, NDVI increased by 68.1% for the dry season and 55.6% for the wet season from 2008 to 2018, and the Above Ground Biomass (AGB) also increased by 37.27% from 2010 to 2018, indicating a notable ecological recovery resulting from conservation projects. There was a small recovery in the number of wild animals between 1988 and 2008; however, from 2008 to 2018, the wildlife population of the study species has increased by approximately 400%. The strong increase in wildlife populations demonstrates successful restoration, in line with post-war ecological recoveries. Although much of the vegetation has recovered since 2008, not all species have recovered equally, reflecting spatial variation, ecological preferences, and biological history. However, habitat preference was strongly influenced by the relationship between vegetation conditions, hydrology, species-specific behavior, and human activity.

Year manuscript completed

2025

Year degree awarded

2025

Author's Keywords

Gorongosa National Park, Wildlife, GIS, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery, AGB

Degree Awarded

Master of Science

Department

Geosciences

College/School

Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology

Thesis Advisor

Bassil El Masri

Committee Chair

Robin Q. Zhang

Committee Member

Haluk Cetin

Committee Member

James Carroll

Document Type

Thesis

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