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A new map of agricultural land in Africa builds towards a soil information system

30 Jun - 09:36 SAST

By Jeroen Huising and Eunice Wangui Mwangi, EU2020-Soils4Africa

Soils4Africa aims to develop a continental-scale Soil Information System, built upon a baseline of primary soil data collected from 20 000 locations across Africa. The project aims to produce a baseline which can be used for informing and monitoring of sustainable intensification in Africa. As part of the process it has mapped agricultural land on the continent.

Good quality soil information is essential for planning the most efficient use of fertilisers, choosing the right seed varieties, and determining the best water management measures for an area.

Existing soil databases for Africa often are compilations

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How open map data is bringing transparency to the apparel industry

31 Aug - 15:09 SAST
The Open Apparel Registry is an open data map of facilities in the apparel industry which apparel brands, civil society organisations, academic researchers, journalists, and other groups use to understand the global apparel supply...
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Mapping fast-growing informal settlements in Africa to reveal where roads and infrastructure are most needed

18 Aug - 07:02 SAST
The Million Neighborhoods Map is a visual tool that provides a comprehensive look at informal settlements across Africa, helping to identify communities most in need of roads, power, water, sanitation and other infrastructure.
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Lessons learned from regional temporal land cover mapping

16 Jul - 17:27 SAST
Land use and land cover change is a leading driver of habitat loss and ecosystem degradation, and it is therefore essential that accurate, consistent time series land cover maps are developed to identify and...
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Monitoring vehicle mobility patterns in South Africa during lockdown using satellite imagery

1 Jun - 12:28 SAST
The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has been using satellite imagery to measure vehicle mobility on the roads and at shopping centres during South Africa’s lockdown, a national measure intended to slow the...
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Mapping energy solutions in a Ugandan refugee settlement

19 May - 12:59 SAST
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team carried out an extensive mapping exercise of all energy-saving solutions shops in Bidibidi settlement to understand the existing market and inform the improvement of access to quality energy-saving products...
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Using earth observation to head off a locust invasion

18 May - 13:48 SAST
NASA-funded scientists are partnering with the UN and relief organisations to better understand where locusts are likely to swarm. Using remote sensing observations of soil moisture and vegetation, researchers are tracking how environmental conditions...
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Analysis: Does the 2020 iPad Pro lidar sensor improve spatial tracking?

6 May - 13:52 SAST
vGIS, a developer of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) solutions for field services, has evaluated whether the new 2020 iPad Pro’s lidar sensor improves spatial tracking. Here are their findings.
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Using 3D solutions to improve design tolerances on building projects gone awry

6 Apr - 16:32 SAST
A mixed-use, multi-structure development project in South Africa had gone terribly wrong, leaving the project owner unsure how to proceed. The future of the project rested on the accuracy of the new as-built to...
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Automatically detect and count animals on aerial imagery

11 Feb - 17:28 SAST
Information from Picterra Measuring animal populations is often the first step in conservation efforts for taking well-prepared, effective action. The problem researchers face is how to detect and count animals...
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