Lara van Niekerk

Jul 31, 2024 | sajs.co.za | Lara van Niekerk |Janine Adams |Nelson Mandela

Abstract Verlorenvlei is a globally important RAMSAR wetland on the arid west coast of South Africa. A prolonged drought between 2016 and 2021 and increasing competition for water from the agricultural sector resulted in extremely low water levels. We used historical aerial and satellite imagery from 1942 and rainfall and water level data for the past 50 years, to assess habitat changes within the estuarine functional zone of the Verlorenvlei Estuarine Lake.