Nethengwe, N. S.Dondofema, F.Mavhuru, Blessing2016-08-172016-08-172015Mavhuru, B. (2015) Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa. University of Venda. South Africa.<http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630>.http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630MENVSCDepartment of Geography and Geo-Information SciencesHuman activities on land degradation have triggered several environmental problems especially in rural areas that are under developed. The main aim of this study is to analyse the contribution of different land uses to gully development and sediment load on the Nzhelele River Valley in the Limpopo Province. Data was collected using different methods such as observation, field data techniques and experiments. Satellite digital images, topographic maps, aerial photographs and the sediment load static model also assisted in determining how land use affects gully development and sediment load. For data analysis, the researcher used the following methods: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and statistical correlation methods. The results of the research illustrates that high land use activities create negative changes especially in areas that are highly fragile and vulnerable. Distinct impact on land use change was observed within settlement area (9.6 %) within a period of 5 years. High correlation between soil organic matter and soil moisture (R=0.96) was observed. Furthermore a significant variation (p ≤ 0.6) between the soil organic matter and soil moisture was also observed. A very significant variation (p ≤ 0.003) was observed in bulk density and extreme significant variations (p ≤ 0.0001) were observed in organic matter and soil particle size. The sand mining and agricultural activities has contributed significantly to the amount of sediment load in the Nzhelele River. A high significant amount of total suspended sediment (55.3 %) and bed load (53.8 %) was observed within the agricultural area. The connection which associates the development of gullies to various land use activities determines the amount of sediment load. These results are consistent with other previous research and suggest that land use activities is likely to exacerbate the development of gullies and sediment load in the Nzhelele River Valley1 online resource (x, 93 leaves ; color illustrations ; color maps)enUniversity of Vendaland degradationUCTDRiparian land useGully developmentsediment loadGeomorphological processesDrainage basin577.680968257Riparian areas --South Africa -- LimpopoWetlanda -- South Africa -- LimpopoDrainage -- South Africa -- LimpopoRiparian ecology -- South Africa -- LimpopoDissertationMavhuru B. Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa. []. , 2815 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630Mavhuru, B. (2815). <i>Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa</i>. (). . Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630Mavhuru, Blessing. <i>"Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa."</i> ., , 2815. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630TY - Dissertation AU - Mavhuru, Blessing AB - Human activities on land degradation have triggered several environmental problems especially in rural areas that are under developed. The main aim of this study is to analyse the contribution of different land uses to gully development and sediment load on the Nzhelele River Valley in the Limpopo Province. Data was collected using different methods such as observation, field data techniques and experiments. Satellite digital images, topographic maps, aerial photographs and the sediment load static model also assisted in determining how land use affects gully development and sediment load. For data analysis, the researcher used the following methods: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and statistical correlation methods. The results of the research illustrates that high land use activities create negative changes especially in areas that are highly fragile and vulnerable. Distinct impact on land use change was observed within settlement area (9.6 %) within a period of 5 years. High correlation between soil organic matter and soil moisture (R=0.96) was observed. Furthermore a significant variation (p ≤ 0.6) between the soil organic matter and soil moisture was also observed. A very significant variation (p ≤ 0.003) was observed in bulk density and extreme significant variations (p ≤ 0.0001) were observed in organic matter and soil particle size. The sand mining and agricultural activities has contributed significantly to the amount of sediment load in the Nzhelele River. A high significant amount of total suspended sediment (55.3 %) and bed load (53.8 %) was observed within the agricultural area. The connection which associates the development of gullies to various land use activities determines the amount of sediment load. These results are consistent with other previous research and suggest that land use activities is likely to exacerbate the development of gullies and sediment load in the Nzhelele River Valley DA - 2815 DB - ResearchSpace DP - Univen KW - land degradation KW - Riparian land use KW - Gully development KW - sediment load KW - Geomorphological processes KW - Drainage basin LK - https://univendspace.univen.ac.za PY - 2815 T1 - Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa TI - Assessing the impacts of riparian land use on gully development and sediment load : a case study of Nzhelele River Valley, Limpopo Province, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11602/630 ER -