Comparative Use of Vegetation Following Fire by Three Mega-herbivores in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Analysis based on Remote Sensing and GIS Technology

Abstract

In savanna habitats fire is used as a management tool stimulating sprouting of plants with high forage quality that attract higher density of herbivores. Vegetation patches affected by fire in Kruger National Park (KNP) on dry season of 2005 were identified using remote sensing and GIS. African buffalo, African elephant and rhino sightings by rangers on fire affected patches were recorded. Normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of the fire affected patches were also calculated on 16-day composite period before the fire, during the fire period and the following 16-day composite post fire periods until the end of the rainy season, February 2006. The results show that African buffalo and rhino prefer burned vegetation, with high NDVI values, for feeding, especially in the beginning of the rainy season. However, when vegetation is not a limiting factor they have no preference either to burned or unburned vegetation. Elephants having diversified diet are not fire dependent for food.