Hatfield Campus

Abel Ramoelo

Director: Centre for Environmental Studies

Associate Professor: Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology

email: [email protected]
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 2017
Office: Geography Building 2-1.3

Consultation: By appointment, none on Wednesdays

Research profile

Prof. Abel Ramoelo - is a Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies, and Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria. Abel completed his first and second degrees in Environmental Sciences with Geography, Ecology and Resource Management as major subjects at the University of Venda, in 2003 and 2004, respectively. He then completed his MSc in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation for Environmental Management and Modelling at four European Universities: University of Southampton (UK), Lund University (Sweden), Warsaw University (Poland) and Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente (The Netherlands). As a remote sensing specialist, he has a PhD in remote sensing from the University of Twente (The Netherlands).

Abel worked as an Earth Observation research scientist for over-14 years, from Junior to Principal Researcher level, at the then Natural Resource and Environment Unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He joined South African National Parks (SANParks) in 2018 as a Regional Ecologist. He did not only focus on remote sensing research for assessing the vegetation state and change in National Parks, but also coordinated research activities beyond SANParks. He further acted as a conduit between scientists and management in addressing matters of biodiversity conservation.

He is the NRF-rated scientist (C2) with core expertise in mapping vegetation health assessment, species (including invasive), biochemistry, and productivity as well as water quality and quantity using optical (hyperspectral and multispectral) and active (LiDAR, and SAR) remote sensing data at various scales, for informing decision pertaining to natural resource and environmental management (i.e. biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change impact, water resources) and food security. I am also involved in projects focusing on land use land cover mapping, and change detection in natural, agricultural and urban landscapes. He co- and leads local and international projects related to the latter topics, benefitting students at various levels. He successfully supervised over 25 MScs and PhDs. He is currently supervising several Honours, MSc and PhD candidates, and published over 90 peer-reviewed scientific and conference proceeding papers and book chapters.

He is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist in the field of Geospatial Science with SACNASP. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the ISPRS International Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geo-Information Science. He is an Editor-in-Chief for SANParks’ KOEDOE journal: African Protected Area Conservation and Science Journal, Associate Editor for Multi – and Hyperspectral Imaging: Frontiers in Remote Sensing Journal and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Big Data: data-driven climate services. He is a member of the Geo-Information Society of South Africa (GISSA), the Society of South African Geographers, the African Association on Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE), and the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE). He is a reviewer for several local and international journals.

Awards

Attended the University of Pretoria’s prestigious Program on Academic Leadership (PAL) offered by UP’s GIBS (2021/2022)
Emerging Researcher Award, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 2012
PhD research funding: postgraduate development programme (DST-PDP), Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation, 2008-2011
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, European Union, 2005-2007
Scare Skills Scholarship, Department of Labour and National Research Foundation, 2003
School Medallion (Best Student in the School of Environmental Sciences), UNIVEN, 2002
Dr Ahmed Cash Award (Best Student in the School of Environmental Sciences), UNIVEN, 2002
Vevisa Award (Best Student in the School of Environmental Sciences), UNIVEN, 2002
Vice Chancellor Merit Award, University of Venda, 2001, 2002
KFC Bursary Award (Best Student in the School), Luvhivhini Secondary School, Limpopo, 1998

Qualifications

PhD (Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation), University of Twente, (ITC), The Netherlands
MSc (Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation for Environmental Management and Modelling) offered by four European Universities (UK, Poland, Sweden and The Netherlands)
Bachelor of Environmental Sciences Honours (Ecology and Resource Management), University of Venda
Bachelor of Environmental Sciences (Geography, Ecology and Resource Management), University of Venda

Courses presented

GMA 705: Advance Remote Sensing (2012 – to date)
GMA 320: Remote Sensing (2022 – to date)
ENV 833: Trees in a multifunctional landscape (2021 – to 2023)

Peer-Reviewed Publications (since 2013)

Scopus H-index | Google Scholar H-index | ORCID ID

Munyai, N., Ramoelo, A., Adelabu, S. & Bezuidenhout, H. (2023) The influence of fire presence and absence on grass species composition and species richness at Mountain Zebra National Park. Koedoe : African Protected Area Conservation and Science, 65, 1738.
Dondofema, Farai, Nthaduleni Nethengwe, Peter Taylor, and Abel Ramoelo. (2023). "Comparison of Satellite Platform for Mapping the Distribution of Mauritius Thorn (Caesalpinia decapetala) and River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve" Remote Sensing 15, no. 11: 2753. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15112753
Kgaphola, M.J., Ramoelo, A., Odindi, J. et al. (2023). Impact of land use and land cover change on land degradation in rural semi-arid South Africa: case of the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality. Environ Monit Assess 195, 710 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11104-0
Philemon Tsele, Abel Ramoelo & Mcebisi Qabaqaba (2023) Development of the grass LAI and CCC remote sensing-based models and their transferability using sentinel-2 data in heterogeneous grasslands, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 44:8, 2643-2667, DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2023.2205982
Kgaphola M.J., Ramoelo A, Odindi, Mwenge Kahinda J, Seetal AR, Musvoto C. (2023) Impact of land use and land cover change on land degradation in rural semi-arid South Africa: case of the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Environmental Management and Monitoring (accepted)
Kgaphola, Motsoko Juniet, Abel Ramoelo, John Odindi, Jean-Marc Mwenge Kahinda, and Ashwin Seetal. (2023). Apportioning Human-Induced and Climate-Induced Land Degradation: A Case of the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Applied Sciences 13, no. 6: 3644. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063644
Kgaphola, Motsoko Juniet, Abel Ramoelo, John Odindi, Jean-Marc Mwenge Kahinda, Ashwin Seetal, and Constansia Musvoto. (2023). Social–Ecological System Understanding of Land Degradation in Response to Land Use and Cover Changes in the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Sustainability 15, no. 4: 3850. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043850
Katlego K Mashiane, Abel Ramoelo, Samuel Adelabu, Ernest Daemane (2023) Estimating mountainous plant species richness and diversity for monitoring global change in a protected grassland park, African Journal of Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13152
Mcebisi Qabaqaba, Laven Naidoo, Philemon Tsele, Abel Ramoelo, Moses Azong Cho (2023), Integrating random forest and synthetic aperture radar improves the estimation and monitoring of woody cover in indigenous forests of South Africa, Applied Geomatics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-023-00497-9
Katlego K. Mashiane, Abel Ramoelo, Samuel Adelabu (2023) Diversifying modelling techniques to disentangle the complex patterns of species richness and diversity in the protected afromontane grasslands, Biodiversity and conservation, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02560-8
Shamaoma, Hastings, Paxie W. Chirwa, Jules C. Zekeng, Abel Ramoelo, Andrew T. Hudak, Ferdinand Handavu, and Stephen Syampungani. (2023). "Use of Multi-Date and Multi-Spectral UAS Imagery to Classify Dominant Tree Species in the Wet Miombo Woodlands of Zambia" Sensors 23, no. 4: 2241.
Musetsho, K.D.; Chitakira, M.; Ramoelo, A. (2022). Ecosystem Service Valuation for a Critical Biodiversity Area: Case of the Mphaphuli Community, South Africa. Land, 11, 1696. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101696
Shamaoma, H.; Chirwa, P.W.; Ramoelo, A.; Hudak, A.T.; Syampungani, S. (2022). The Application of UASs in Forest Management and Monitoring: Challenges and Opportunities for Use in the Miombo Woodland. Forests 2022, 13, 1812. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13111812
Adeola, O.M.; Ramoelo, A.; Mantlana, B.; Mokotedi, O.; Silwana, W.; Tsele, P. (2022). Review of Publications on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Climate Change Adaptation Using Bibliometric Analysis: A Case Study of Africa. Sustainability 2022, 14, 13672. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013672
Tsele Philemon, Ramoelo Abel, Qabaqaba Mcebisi, Mafanya Madodomzi, Chirima George, (2022) Validation of LAI, chlorophyll and FVC biophysical estimates from sentinel-2 level2 prototype processor over a heterogeneous savanna and grassland environment in South Africa, Geocarto International, https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2022.2087756
Nkwanana Nyaladzani, Elhadi Adam and Ramoelo Abel (2022) Assessing the utility of Sentinel-2 MSI in mapping an encroaching Serephium plumosum in South Africa rangeland, Applied Geomatics, 14, 435–449
Kablan Antoine Effossou, Moses Azong Cho, Abel Ramoelo, Matilda Azong Cho (2022) Mechanisms and consequences of benefit sharing from oil palm agribusiness plantations establishment in South Comoé Region, Côte d’Ivoire, Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 123 (1), pp. 63-73
Kablan Antoine Effossou, Moses Azong Cho, Abel Ramoelo (2022), Impact of conflicting land tenure systems on land acquisition by agribusiness developers in Côte d’Ivoire, Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, 1(63), 25-39
Mthunzi Mndela, Ignacio C. Madakadze, Florence V. Nherera-Chokuda, Sikhalazo Dube, Abel Ramoelo, Mziwanda Mangwane & Julius T. Tjelele, (2022), Short-term responses of herbaceous vegetation to bush clearing in semi-arid rangelands of South Africa, Pastoralism, 12: 17 doi: 10.1186/s13570-022-00235-7
Mafanya, M., P Tsele, P., Zengeya, T., Ramoelo A. (2022) An assessment of image classifiers for generating machine-learning training samples for mapping the invasive Campuloclinium macrocephalum (Less.) DC (pompom weed) using DESIS hyperspectral imagery, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 185, pp. 188-200.
Mndela, M., Madakadze, I.C., Tjelele, J.T., Mangwane, M., Nherera-Chokuda, F., Dube, S., Ramoelo, A., Letsoalo, N.L. (2022) Responses of grass productivity traits to bush clearing in semi-arid rangelands in North-West Province of South Africa, Rangeland Journal 44(1) 33-4
Nzuza P., Ramoelo A., Odindi J., Mwenge Kahinda J., Lindeque L., (2021). A triangulation approach for assessing and mapping land degradation in Lepellane Catchment of the Sekhukhune District, South African Geographic Journal, p514-538, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03736245.2021.2000481
Adeyemi A., Ramoelo A, Cho MA, Strydom J. (2021) Assessment of spatio-temporal direction of impervious surface area – surface temperature in Pretoria, South Africa, Geocarto International, pp: 9707-9730, https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2021.2022018
Daemane, M. E., Ramoelo, A. & Adelabu, S. (2021). The spatial distribution of the woodland communities and their associated environmental drivers in the golden gate highlands national park, South Africa. Koedoe, 63 (1), 1-9.
Nghiyalwa, H. S., Urban, M., Baade, J., Smit, I. P. J., Ramoelo, A., Mogonong, B. & Schmullius, C. (2021). Spatio-Temporal Mixed Pixel Analysis of Savanna Ecosystems: A Review. Remote Sensing, 13 (19), pp. 3870
Adeyemi, A, Ramoelo, A, Cho, MA. Strydom J. (2021). Spatio-temporal analysis of built-up impervious surface area and interplay with land surface temperature in Pretoria, South Africa, Geocarto International, DOI: DOI: 10.1080/10106049.2021.1980617
Madonsela S, Cho, M, Ramoelo, A, Mutanga, O (2021), Investigating the relationship between tree species diversity and Landsat-8 spectral heterogeneity across multiple phenological stages, Remote Sensing, 13, 2467, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13132467
Nuwarinda H. Ramoelo A. Adelabu SA (2021) Assessing natural resource change in Vhembe biosphere and surroundings, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, (accepted)
Adeyemi, A., Ramoelo, A., Moses Cho., Masemola, C. Spectral index to improve the extraction of built-up area from WorldView-2 imagery, Journal Applied Remote Sensing 15(2), 024510 (2021), doi: 10.1117/1.JRS.15.024510.
Majozi, N.P.; Mannaerts, C.M.; Ramoelo, A.; Mathieu, R.; Verhoef, W. (2021). Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis of a Remote-Sensing-Based Penman–Monteith Model to Meteorological and Land Surface Input Variables. Remote Sensing., 13, 882. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13050882
Svinurai W., Hassen A., Tesfamariam E., Ramoelo A. (2021). Modelled effects of grazing strategies on native grass production, animal intake and growth in Brahman steers, African Journal of Range & Forage Science, pp. 1-11, https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2021.1878277
Svinurai W., Hassen A., Tesfamariam E., Ramoelo A. Cullen B. (2021. Calibration and evaluation of the Sustainable Grazing Systems pasture model for predicting native grass aboveground biomass production in southern Africa, African Journal of Range & Forage Science, pp.1-14, https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2021.1875501
Nzuza P., Ramoelo, A. Odindi J., Mwenge-Kahinda, J., Madonsela, S. (2020). Predicting land degradation using Sentinel-2 and environmental variables in the Lepellane catchment of the Greater Sekhukhune District, South Africa, Physics and the Chemistry of the Earth,
Masemola C. Cho MA. Ramoelo A. 2020. Sentinel-2 time series based optimal features and time window for mapping of invasive Australian acacias in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation, 93, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2020.102207
Masemola C. Cho MA. Ramoelo A. 2020. Towards a semi-automated mapping of Australia native invasive alien Acacia trees using Sentinel-2 and radiative transfer models in South Africa, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 166, pp. 153-168, doi: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2020.04.009
Chabalala Y, Adam E, Oumar Z, Ramoelo A. 2020. Exploiting the capabilities of Sentinel-2 and RapidEye for predicting grass nitrogen across different grass communities in a protected area, Applied Geomatics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-020-00305-8
Sebinasi Dzikiti, Nebo Z Jovanovic, Richard DH Bugan, Abel Ramoelo, Nobuhle P Majozi, Alecia Nickless, Moses A Cho, David C Le Maitre, Zanele Ntshidi, Harrison H Pienaar, 2019. Comparison of two remote sensing models for estimating evapotranspiration: algorithm evaluation and application in seasonally arid ecosystems in South Africa, Journal of Arid Land, 11(4), 495-512
Cho MA and Ramoelo A, 2019. Optimal dates for assessing long-term changes in tree-cover in the semi-arid biomes of South Africa using MODIS NDVI time series (2001–2018), International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 81, pp. 27-36
Masemola C. Cho MA. Ramoelo A. 2019. Assessing the Effect of Seasonality on Leaf and Canopy Spectra for the Discrimination of an Alien Tree Species, Acacia Mearnsii, From Co-Occurring Native Species Using Parametric and Nonparametric Classifiers, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 57 (8), pp. 5853-5867, DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2019.2902774
Dube, T.; Pandit, S.; Shoko, C.; Ramoelo, A.; Mazvimavi, D.; Dalu, T. 2019. Numerical Assessments of Leaf Area Index in Tropical Savanna Rangelands, South Africa Using Landsat 8 OLI Derived Metrics and In-Situ Measurements. Remote Sens., 11, 829.
Laven Naidoo, Heidi van Deventer, Abel Ramoelo, Renaud Mathieu, Basanda Nondlazi, Ridhwannah Gangat, 2019. Estimating above ground biomass as an indicator of carbon storage in vegetated wetlands of the grassland biome of South Africa, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 78, 118-129
Ndou, N.N., Palamuleni L.G., Ramoelo, A. 2018. Modelling depth to groundwater level using SEBAL-based dry season potential evapotranspiration in the upper Molopo river catchment, South Africa, The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 21(3), 237 - 248
Svinurai, W. Hassen A, Eyob T., Ramoelo A. 2018. Performance of ratio-based, soil adjusted and atmospheric corrected multispectral vegetation indices in predicting herbaceous above ground biomass in a Colophospermum mopane tree-shrub savanna, Grass and Forage Science, 73, 727-739.
Ramoelo, A.; Cho, M.A. 2018. Explaining Leaf Nitrogen Distribution in a Semi-Arid Environment Predicted on Sentinel-2 Imagery Using a Field Spectroscopy Derived Model. Remote Sensing, 10, 269.
Madonsela S., Cho. MA., Ramoelo A. Mutanga O., Naidoo L. 2018. Estimating tree species diversity in the savannah using NDVI and woody canopy cover, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 66, pp106-115
Kapangazwiwiri E., Mwenge Kahinda J., Dzikiti S., Ramoelo A. etc. 2018. Validation and verification of lawful water use in South Africa: An overview of the process in the KwaZulu Natal Province, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/V, 105, pp: 274 - 282
Madonsela S., Cho M.A., Ramoelo, A. Mutanga O. 2017. Remote sensing of species diversity using Landsat 8 spectral variables, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 133, 116-127
Majozi, N. P., Mannaerts, C. M., Ramoelo, A., Mathieu, R., Nickless, A., and Verhoef, W. 2017, 2017. Analysing surface energy balance closure and partitioning over a semi-arid savanna FLUXNET site in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3401-3415, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3401-2017,
Cho M., Ramoelo A., Dziba L. 2017. Response of Land Surface Phenology to Variation in Tree Cover during Green-Up and Senescence Periods in the Semi-Arid Savanna of Southern Africa, Remote Sensing, 9(7), pp: 689
Majozi N.P, Mannaerts C.M., Ramoelo A., Mathieu R., Mudau A.E., Verhoef W. 2017. An intercomparison of satellite-based daily evapotranspiration estimates under different eco-climatic regions in South Africa, Remote Sensing, 9, 307
Madonsela S., Cho M.A. Mathieu R., Mutanga O. Ramoelo A. et al. (2017), Multi-phenology WorldView-2 imagery improves remote sensing of savannah tree species, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geo-information, 58, pp. 65-73
Kaszta Z., van de Kerchove R., Ramoelo A., Cho M.A., Madonsela S., Mathieu R., Wolf E. 2016. Seasonal separation of African savanna components using WorldView-2 imagery: A comparison of pixel and object based approaches and selected classification algorithms, Remote Sensing, 8(9), 763
Fonteh, M. , Theophile, F. , Cornelius, M. , Main, R. , Ramoelo, A. and Cho, M. (2016) Assessing the Utility of Sentinel-1 C Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery for Land Use Land Cover Classification in a Tropical Coastal Systems When Compared with Landsat 8. Journal of Geographic Information System, 8, 495-505. doi: 10.4236/jgis.2016.84041.
Masemola C, Cho M.A, Ramoelo, A. 2016. Comparison of Landsat 8 OLI and Landsat 7 ETM+ for estimating grassland LAI using model inversion and spectral indices: case study of Mpumalanga, South Africa, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 37(18), pp. 4401-4419
Mushia N.M. Ramoelo A, Ayisi K.A. 2016. The Impact of the Quality of Coal Mine Stockpile Soils on Sustainable Vegetation Growth and Productivity, Sustainability, 8, 546, doi:10.3390/su8060546
Kaszta Z, Marino J, Ramoelo A, Wolff E. 2016. Bulk feeder or selective grazer: African buffalo space use patterns based on fine-scaled remotely sensed data on forage quality and quantity, Ecological Modelling, 323, pp. 115-122
Dzikiti S. Gush M.B, Le Maitre D.C., Maherry A., Jovanovic N.Z. Ramoelo A., Cho M.A. 2016. Quantifying potential water savings from clearing invasive alien Eucalyptus camaldulensis using in situ and high-resolution remote sensing data in the Berg River Catchment, Western Cape, South Africa, Forest Ecology and Management, 361, 69-80.
Adeyemi, A, Botai J. Ramoelo A. van der Merwe F., Tsela P. 2015. Effects of impervious surface and vegetation changes on mean surface temperature over Tshwane metropolis, Gauteng Province, South Africa, South African Journal of Geomatics, 4(4), 1 – 18.
Ramoelo A. Cho M.A. Mathieu R, Madonsela S., van de Kerchove R., Kaszta Z., Wolff E. 2015. Monitoring grass nutrients and biomass as indicators of rangeland quality and quantity using random forest modelling and WorldView-2 data, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geo-information, 43, 43-54.
Ramoelo A., Cho MA. Mathieu R., Skidmore A.K. 2015. Potential of Sentinel-2 spectral configuration to assess rangeland quality, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 9(1), 094096
Cho MA., Malahlela O., Ramoelo A. 2015. Assessing the utility of WorldView-2 imagery for tree species mapping in South African Subtropical humid forest and the conservation implications: Dukuduku forest patch as case study, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 38, 349-357
Van Deventer H., Cho M., Mutanga O., Ramoelo A. 2015. Capability of models to predict leaf N and P across four seasons for six sub-tropical forest evergreen trees, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 101, 209 – 220.
Ramoelo A., Dzikiti S., van Deventer H., Maherry A., Cho M.A., Gush, M. 2015. Potential to monitor plant stress using remote sensing tools, Journal of Arid Environment, 113, 134-144
Ramoelo A., Majozi N, Mathieu R., Jovanovic N., Nickless A., Dzikiti S. 2014. Validation of Global Evapotranspiration Product (MOD16) using flux tower data in the Africa Savanna, South Africa, Remote Sensing, 6, pp. 7406-7423.
Mutanga S, Van Schoor C, Olorunju PL, Gonah T, Ramoelo A. 2013. Determining the best optimum time for predicting sugarcane yield using hyper-temporal satellite Imagery. Advances in Remote Sensing, 2(3), pp. 269-275
Ullah S., Skidmore A.K., Ramoelo A., Groen T., Naeem M., Ali A. 2014. Retrieval of leaf water content spanning the visible to thermal infrared spectra, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 93, pp. 56-64
Ayeni A.O., Cho M.A., Ramoelo A., Mathieu R., Soneye A.S.O, Adegoke J.O. (2013). Could local perception of water stress be explained by LULCC?, Geoinformatics and Geostatistics: An Overview, S1
Mutanga S., Ramoelo A., Gonah T. 2013. Trend analysis of small scale commercial sugarcane production in post resettlement areas of Mkwasine Zimbabwe, using hyper-temporal satellite imagery, Advances in Remote Sensing, 2, pp.29-34
Cho M.A. Ramoelo A, Debba P, Mutanga O, Mathieu R. van Deventer H. Ndlovu N. 2013. Assessing the effects of subtropical forest fragmentation on leaf nitrogen distribution using remote sensing data, Landscape Ecology, 28(8), 1470-1491.
Ramoelo A, Skidmore A.K. Schlerf M. Mathieu R, Heitkonig I.M.A. Cho M.A. 2013. Savanna grass nitrogen to phosphorus ratio estimation using field spectroscopy and the potential for estimation with imaging spectroscopy, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 23, pp.334-343.
Ramoelo A, Skidmore A.K., Cho M.A., Mathieu R., Heitkonig I.M.A., Dudeni-Tlhone-Dudeni N, Schlerf M., Prins H.H.T. 2013. Non-linear partial least square regression increases the estimation accuracy of grass nitrogen and phosphorus using in situ hyperspectral and environmental data, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 82, pp. 27-40
Ramoelo A, Skidmore A.K. Cho M.A. Schlerf M. Mathieu R, Heitkonig I.M.A.2012. Regional estimation of savanna grass nitrogen using the red-edge band of the spaceborne RapidEye sensor, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation,19: Pages 151-162
Moses Azong Cho, Renaud Mathieu, Gregory P. Asner, Laven Naidoo , Jan van Aardt, Abel Ramoelo, Pravesh Debba, Konrad Wessels , Russell Main, Izak P.J. Smit, Barend Erasmus. 2012. Mapping tree species composition in South African savannas using an integrated airborne spectral and LiDAR system, Remote Sensing of Environment, 125 (214-226)
Ramoelo A, Skidmore A, Schlerf M, Mathieu R, Heitkonig I.M.A. 2011. Water removed spectra increase the retrieval accuracy when estimating grass nitrogen and phosphorus concentration estimations, ISPRS Photogrammetric and Remote Sensing Journal, 66(4), Pages: 408-417
Main R; Azong Cho M; Mathieu R; O’Kennedy MM; Ramoelo A; Koch S .2011. An investigation into robust spectral indices for leaf chlorophyll estimation, ISPRS Photogrammetric and Remote Sensing Journal, 66(6), Pages: 751-761

Research Publications (conference contributions)

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9917-9754

Qabaqaba M. Naidoo L, Tsele P, Ramoelo A, Cho MA. 2022. Assessing the interactions between above-ground biomass and woody cover along with environmental variability in the Dukuduku indigenous forest of South Africa, AARSE Conference proceedings, Kigali, Rwanda, 24 – 28 October 2022.
Silwana W. Ramoelo A, Tsele P, Mantlana B, Mokotedi O, 2022. Analysis of land use and land cover change dynamics and its impacts on water energy food nexus resources over a 30-year period (1990 -2020) in Mpumalanga, South Africa, AARSE Conference proceedings, Kigali, Rwanda, 24 – 28 October 2022.
Tsele P, Ramoelo A, Qabaqaba M, 2022. Evaluation of sentinel-2 spectral reflectance and indices to estimate grass LAI and CCC in heterogeneous grassland, AARSE Conference proceedings, Kigali, Rwanda, 24 – 28 October 2022.
Mahlatse Kganyago, Abel Ramoelo, Evence Zoungrana, Nosiseko Mashiyi, Issa Garba, (2022) Characterizing the Spatial Distribution of Grazing and Browsing Resources In Africa Using Random Forest Classifier And Multi-Sensor Data, 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS, 2022. 17-22 July 2022, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. IGARSS 2022 - 2022 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2022, pp. 4368-4371, doi: 10.1109/IGARSS46834.2022.9883536.
Urban, M… Ramoelo A. et al. (2021), "Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Time Series Breakpoint Detection as Part of the South African Land Degradation Monitor (SALDi)," 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS, 2021, pp. 1997-2000, doi: 10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9553331.
Semela M., Ramoelo A., Adelabu S., 2020. Testing and comparing the applicability of sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 reflectance data in estimating mountainous herbaceous biomass before and after fire using random forest modelling, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) proceedings, Virtual Symposium, 26^th September – 2^nd October 2020
Christiane Schmullius, Marcel Urban, Andreas Hirner, Christian Berger, Konstantin Schellenberg, Abel Ramoelo, Izak Smit, Tercia Strydom, George Chirima, Theunis Morgenthal, Brigitte Melly, Ursula Gessner, Nosiseko Mashiyi, Andiswa Mlisa, Mahlatse Kganyago, Jussi Baade, 2020. Earth observation strategies for degradation monitoring in South Africa with Sentinels - results from the spaces 2 SALDI-project year 1, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) proceedings, Virtual Symposium, 26^th September – 2^nd October 2020
Ramoelo A. Cho. MA. 2016. Estimation of leaf nitrogen concentration using spectrometer data to calibrate sentinel-2 image, 11^th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE), Hotel Africana, Kampala, Uganda, 23-28 October 2016
Ramoelo A. Cho MA. Mathieu R. 2015. Use of remote sensing-based landscape matrix for understanding grazing patterns in the protected areas of the African savannah, 9^th International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress, Portland, Oregon State, USA, 5 – 10 July 2015.
Ramoelo A. Cho M.A. Mathieu R. 2014. Challenges and opportunities for leaf nitrogen estimation as an indicator for rangeland quality using Earth Observation in the savannah ecosystems, In. Ahmed F., Mutanga O. Zeil-Fahlbusch E. 10^th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE 2014): Space Technologies for Societal Benefits in Africa, 27 – 31 October 2014, University of Johannesburg.
Ramoelo A. Cho M.A. 2014. Dry season biomass estimation as an indicator of rangeland quantity using multi-scale remote sensing data, In. Ahmed F., Mutanga O. Zeil-Fahlbusch E. 10^th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE 2014): Space Technologies for Societal Benefits in Africa, 27 – 31 October 2014, University of Johannesburg.
Cho M.A. Ramoelo A. Holloway J. 2014. Estimating leaf area index (LAI) by inversion of PROSAIL radiative transfer model using SPOT 6 imagery, In. Ahmed F., Mutanga O. Zeil-Fahlbusch E. 10^th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of Environment (AARSE 2014): Space Technologies for Societal Benefits in Africa, 27 – 31 October 2014, University of Johannesburg.
Ramoelo, A. Cho M.A, Mathieu R. Skidmore, A.K. 2014. The potential of Sentinel-2 spectral configuration to assess rangeland quality, SPIE Remote Sensing Conference, 22-25 September, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Cho M.A.., Ramoelo A., Mathieu R. 2014. Estimation of leaf area index of South Africa from MODIS imagery by inversion of PROSAIL radiative transfer model, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) proceedings, Quebec City, Canada, 14-18 July.
Cho M.A., Ramoelo A., Skidmore A.K. 2014. Exploring various spectral regions for estimating chlorophyll from ASD leaf reflectance using PROSPECT radiative transfer model, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) proceedings, Quebec City, Canada, 14-18 July.
Ramoelo A. Cho M.A. Modonsela S, Mathieu R, van der Korchove R, Kaszta Z, Wolff E. 2014. A potential to monitor nutrients as an indicator of rangeland quality using spaceborne remote sensing, 8^th International Symposium on Digital Earth, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, 26-30 August 2013, IOP conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (18), 012094,
Pullanagari, R. R., Dynes, A. R., Warren, M. K., Yule, I. J., Thulin, S., Knox, N. M., & Ramoelo, A. 2013. Remote sensing of pasture quality. Paper presented at the 22nd International Grassland Congress, Revitalising Grasslands to Sustain our Communities, 15-19 September, Sydney, Australia

Research Publications (book chapters, research reports, popular articles, theses)