Abstract

Globally, grasslands are affected by climate change and unsustainable management practices which usually leads to transitions from stable, degraded and then to desertification. Spatial vegetation patch configurations are regarded as key indicators of such transitions. Understanding the relationships between the grass-land vegetation and its environment is key to vegetation restoration projects. In this research, generally species within the high moisture sites recorded small patch numbers, a large fraction of vegetation cover and a small total perimeter per m2. Patches in limited soil moisture areas recorded patch configurations indicating they are unstable and undergoing degradation and therefore need urgent restoration attention to forestall their further degradation and its resultant effect of desertification. These results would provide quantitative easy-to-use indicators for vegetation degradation and help in vegetation restoration projects.