A synopsis of field and remote sensing based methods for studying African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) impact on woody vegetation in Africa

Abstract

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) negatively influence woody vegetation, causing structural changes to ecosystems. Field-based survey methods used to monitor elephant impact, while valuable, are costly and time-consuming to execute. By applying distance-sampling techniques such as remote sensing technology, inaccessible areas can be surveyed. This overview provides insight into methods used by scientists to determine the impact of elephants on woody vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were sourced from a variety of research databases. Findings indicate that 87% (n = 92) of the reviewed studies used field-based methods and 13% (n = 14) used remote sensing-based methods. We explore the national affiliations of the lead and the last authors of the reviewed studies and the scientific journals that published them. Field-based is the dominant method used in the majority of published studies on elephant impact. The majority of these studies were published in European and American journals, instead of African journals, which are less represented. However, the majority of the lead and last authors’ affiliations for both field-based and remote sensing based methods are affiliated with African institutions. We conclude that there is a need to improve the integration of remote sensing techniques into conservation and other ecological fields.