Nk Onyia Phd Thesis
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Application of Remote Sensing in the Assessment of Oil Pollution Impacts on Biodiversity in Rivers State, Nigeria A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester By Nkeiruka Nneti Onyia (B. Agric., MPhil, AFHEA) School of Geography, Geology and the Environment University of Leicester January 2020 Abstract Application of Remote Sensing in the Assessment of Oil Pollution Impacts on Biodiversity in Rivers State, Nigeria Nkeiruka Nneti Onyia Biodiversity loss remains a global challenge, and monitoring methods are often limited in their coverage. Rivers State is a biodiversity hotspot because of the high number of endemic species endangered by oil pollution. This thesis investigates the potential of integrating remote sensing tools for monitoring biodiversity in the State using vascular plant species as indicators. Satellite data from Hyperion, Sentinel 2A and Landsat were analysed for their usefulness. Soil samples from polluted and control transects were analysed for total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), temperature, acidity, species diversity, abundance and leaf chlorophyll concentration. Field data results showed significant differences in all variables between polluted and control transects. Average TPH on polluted transects was 12,296 mg/kg, and on control transects was 40.53 mg/kg. 163 plant species of 52 families were recorded with Poaceae and Cyperaceae the most abundant. Floristic data ordinated on orthogonal axes of soil parameters revealed that TPH strongly influenced species occurrence (r = -0.42) and abundance (r = -0.39). Similarly, application of the spectral variability hypothesis (SVH) revealed the underlying environmental gradient controlling vegetation composition on polluted transects as TPH and on control transects as P. Models of relationship between spectral metrics and soil properties estimated soil TPH (R2 = 0.45) and P (R2 = 0.62) with marginal errors. Hyperion data provided better insight into vegetation response to oil pollution. Continuum removed reflectance, band depths of absorption maxima, red edge reflectance all significantly differed between polluted and control vegetation. Furthermore, a new index created from TPH sensitive Hyperion wavelengths- normalised difference vegetation vigour index (NDVVI) outperformed traditional narrowband vegetation indices (NBVIs) in models estimating species diversity in Kporghor. R2 and RMSE values for Shannon’s index were 0.54 and 0.5 for NDVVI-based models and 0.2 and 0.67 for NBVI-based models respectively. This research provides evidence of oil pollution effect on vegetation composition, abundance, growth and reflectance and outlines how this information can be used for biodiversity monitoring. 1 Acknowledgements First, my gratitude goes to my creator, God Almighty for His protection and sustenance. I owe a busload of gratitude to my supervisors Prof Heiko Balzter and Dr Juan Carlos Berrio for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this arduous journey. Having delved into this research with minimal background knowledge of hyperspectral remote sensing, I must have unwittingly pushed your patience to its limit, yet you persevered and guided me to the very end. I am particularly grateful for the celebrations of every little success I achieved; those moments deepened my resolve to carry on against all the odds. I am deeply grateful to my review panellists Prof Sue Page and Dr Kirsten Barrett whose critical evaluation of my work annually propelled and steered me to stay on course as well to the executive team at WinGRSS, whose annual sessions on empowering and advancing women remote scientists were pivotal to the success of this research. I acknowledge and appreciate the prayers and selfless input of Dr Chijioke Nwalozie, Prof Hillary Edeoga and Dr E. Onyekwodiri as well as Prof Patrick Ogwo, staff and students of the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology (EMT), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria for their cooperation and support during the fieldwork in 2016 and 2017. Thanks also to the staff of International Energy Services Ltd (IESL), Port Harcourt, Nigeria for providing equipment for sample collection and analysis of soil samples in their laboratory. I must also acknowledge with gratitude, the leaders and members of several communities in Rivers State including Kporghor, Rumuekpe, Alimini, Aluu, Omoigwor and so on who facilitated field data collection from investigated transects and the fieldwork team headed by Mr Victor Anih for their bravery and ingenuity. I am indebted to the administration and research staff and students of the CLCR, past and present for the lively and professional ambience that enabled interaction, collaboration and support for one another. I am very grateful for the R communities online; particularly stack exchange/overflow for providing much-needed assistance when writing R scripts for my research. To my wonderful parents who have nurtured me all their adult lives, I owe you everything. Sadly, I lost my dad at the tail end of this sojourn, but I rejoice in the knowledge that I have done him proud. A million thanks to my lovely children Ellen, Albert, Laura and Edward for being at your best and causing minimal distractions throughout this program. To my awesome siblings and good friends, thank you all for your unrelenting support and encouragement without which I would not be here, you are the best anyone could ask for. 2 Table of contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................1 1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................18 1.1 Research Background ............................................................................................ 18 1.2 Justification of the Study ....................................................................................... 22 1.2.1 Crude Oil Pollution and Effects in Rivers State ............................................ 22 1.2.2 Importance of Biodiversity Monitoring in the Niger Delta ........................... 24 1.3 Summary ............................................................................................................... 26 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................27 2.1 Timeline of Global Biodiversity Monitoring ........................................................ 27 2.2 Progress and Challenges ....................................................................................... 30 2.3 Methods of Monitoring Biodiversity .................................................................... 33 2.4 Biodiversity Indicators (BIs) ................................................................................. 35 2.4.1 Habitat Records .............................................................................................. 35 2.4.2 Plant Species .................................................................................................. 36 2.4.3 Biodiversity Indicator Partnership ................................................................. 36 2.5 Determining Species Diversity of Transects. ........................................................ 37 2.5.1 Similarity Index of Polluted and Control Transects ...................................... 37 2.5.2 Richness and Diversity Indices ...................................................................... 38 2.5.3 Beta Diversity Index of Polluted and Control Transects ............................... 38 2.6 Remote Sensing in Biodiversity Monitoring......................................................... 39 2.6.1 Indirect Remote Sensing (IRS) ...................................................................... 40 2.6.2 Direct Remote Sensing .................................................................................. 42 2.6.3 Remote Sensing Derived Indices ................................................................... 42 2.6.4 Limitations in Biodiversity Monitoring ......................................................... 42 2.7 Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) .............................................................. 45 2.8 Vegetation Indices (VIs) ....................................................................................... 46 2.9 Plant Biophysical Parameters ................................................................................ 47 2.9.1 Chlorophyll Content (CC) ............................................................................. 48 2.10 Research Questions and Objectives ...................................................................... 49 2.10.1 Research Questions (RQ) ............................................................................... 49 2.10.2 Research Objectives (RO) ............................................................................. 49 2.11 Thesis Structure ..................................................................................................... 49 2.12 Summary ............................................................................................................... 51 3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................53 3.1 Description of the Study Area ............................................................................... 53 3.2 Ecology of