Impact of Elephants on Bushveld Vegetation at Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), South Africa

The impact of elephant browsing on the vegetation in AENP was examined by modeling the potential vegetation water content in a hypothetical situation were elephants are not present in AENP. This was compared to the current water vegetation content. Vegetation content was estimated from a LANDSAT image using NDWI as an index for water content. The potential water content was estimated using data from AENP botanical reserves and using a SRTM topographical model. The study showed that the high elephant density created a significant impact on 45% of the park area.