GabYESUF/ReDEAL: ReDEAL - Ecological degradation Units - R code

Soils across sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to extensive degradation processes, which can reduce their ability to produce crops and support livestock. While there has been a significant research effort focussing on soil degradation in sub-Saharan croplands, less research effort had been directed towards grasslands. Here, we tested the effectiveness of remote sensing to classify the soil degradation status of smallholder grazing lands. Focussing on grasslands used by smallholders in the districts of Nyando and Kuresoi in Western Kenya, we first used remote sensing (RS) to classify grasslands as productive grazing lands, grazing lands that followed a variable trend in vegetation productivity (transition), and unstable and unproductive (degraded) grazing lands.