Inspection of the images - Continued
|  | Photo and Landsat image of the border between NCA and the surrounding area is very sharp | |
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, NCA border
12) The border between the NCA and the surrounding area is very sharp, as shown in the photo of the southern part of the NCA.
Compare the photo and the Landsat image from the Southern border of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the surrounding agricultural land.
The photo is from 23 September 2000, and the false colour Landsat432 image was taken on 25 October 2000.
13) Try to answer the following questions:
Why is the border so distinct on the Landsat image?
Explain why farming is found so close to the NCA.
Inspect the border of the NCA using the false colour images produced above.
Find examples of different land use near the border.
Try to distinguish between small farms and bigger plantations.
| | | A Maasai boma |
Find fields
The Maasai people are pastoralists. That means that they have cows, goats and sheep. They are not traditional farmers. They have the right to live inside the NCA with their animals. They are not allowed to work the land.
From the year 1950 to the year 2000, the Maasai population inside the NCA increased from 10 000 to 50 000.
The traditional food of the Maasai consists of cow milk and blood, and in good times, meat.
Because of restricted grazing in the NCA, they now have only three cows per person. Studies have shown that the pastoralist Maasai people need five cows per person to sustain themselves.
The Maasai are not allowed to use the crater for grazing. They can only use it for its water, and to allow the cows to lick salt from the deposits near the crater lake.
| | Two Maasai men inside their boma | |
In order to survive, the Maasai people are suspected of farming the land inside the NCA in times of drought and when the grazing is poor.
Try using the Landsat imagery to find areas cultivated inside the NCA.
Images with the full 28.5 m x 28.5 m resolution are provided for the Western part of the images used above.
Images from the dry season (25 October 2000) and from the wet season (14 February 2001) are provided in all six bands.
Download: NGOW_00 and NGOW_01.
| | | Maasai woman milking a cow |
14) Open Band2W_01, Band3W_01 and Band4W_01 taken on 14 February 2001 in LEOWorks.
Combine the three bands into a colour image as shown above.
Try different types of enhancing.
The Histogram Equalization method gives a high contrast image with further information.
Try using other band combinations.
The Ngorongoro Village is situated near the bottom of the image near the southwestern crater rim. Its airstrip is visible.
| | Cattle returning to the boma after a day in the crater | |
Try to zoom in on this area. On a good enhanced image you can see the airstrip as a straight line. The Ngorongoro Village can be seen west of the airstrip.
The buildings show up on the Landsat image with band combination 432 as green to blue areas indicating no vegetation. Roads can also be seen.
Try to look for regular patterns with colours other than red and pink. These areas could be cultivated fields.
Take into account that the image is of 14 February, after a few months of rain.
15) Try to answer the following questions:
Find the airstrip.
Identify roads in the area.
Find the Ngorongoro Village to the west of the airstrip.
Explain what cultivated fields look like compared to natural meadow vegetation after the rain.
Identify areas you think are cultivated.
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