Biomass production, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency of arid rangelands in the Northern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Annual above-ground net primary production (ANPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) of rangeland have the potential to provide an objective basis for establishing pricing for ecosystem services. To provide estimates of ANPP, we surveyed the biomass, estimated ET and prepared a water use efficiency for dwarf shrublands and arid savanna in the Riemvasmaak Rural Area, Northern Cape, South Africa. The annual production fraction was surveyed in 33 MODIS 1 km² pixels and the results regressed against the MODIS fPAR product. This regression model was used to predict the standing green biomass (kg DM ha⁻¹) for 2009 (dry year). Using an approach which combines potential evapotranspiration (ET0) and the MODIS fPAR product, we estimated actual evapotranspiration (ETa). These two models (greening standing biomass and ETa) were used to calculate the annual WUE for 2009. WUE was 1.6 kg DM mm⁻¹ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. This value may be used to provide an estimate of ANPP in the absence of direct measurements of biomass and to provide a comparison of the water use efficiency of this rangeland with other rangeland types.