Baringo, Kenya, was the site of a 1987 pilot study evaluating the FAO/UNEP Provisional Methodology for desertification assessment. The project collected topographic, soil, and climate data over an area of approximately 1500 km² to develop and verify assessment models. The study was conducted by the Government of Kenya and UNEP, with data finalized around 1992.
Use Cases
- Model desertification risk by integrating digitized topographic contours, soil type maps, and calculated rainfall erosivity indices.
- Validate remote sensing interpretations of vegetation degradation using ground-surveyed soil samples and field investigation data.
- Assess soil crusting and compaction processes by analyzing soil unit data collected from the Kenya National Agricultural Center.
- Incorporate socio-economic context into land management models based on the study's recommendations for a human use component.
Strengths
- Study area covers approximately 1500 km², providing a substantial spatial scope for model development.
- Data integration includes soil samples analyzed by a national agricultural center, topographic maps at 1:250,000 scale, and rainfall data from 33 meteorological stations.
Limitations
- Data is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in 1992, limiting relevance to current conditions.
- Specific row counts, column names, and sample sizes for collected data points are not provided in the description.
Provenance
- Source
- Government of Kenya and UNEP, via CEOS_EXTRA on NASA EarthData.
- Collection Method
- Data gathered from digitized topographic maps, manual SPOT imagery interpretation, field investigations, soil sample analysis, and meteorological station records.
- Time Range
- Study implemented from 1987, with data reflecting conditions up to around 1992.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Baringo Study Area, Kenya, between 0°15'-1° N and 35°30'-36°30' E.