Novel methods for monitoring low chlorophyll-a concentrations in the large, oligotrophic Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa.

The use of remote sensing for monitoring chlorophyll-a (chla) and modelling eutrophication has advanced over the last decades. Although the application of the technology has proven successful in ocean ecosystems, there is a need to monitor chla concentrations in large, nutrient-poor inland water bodies. The main objective of this study was to explore the utility of publicly available remotely sensed Sentinel-2 (S2) imagery to quantify chla concentrations in the nutrient-deficient Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa (LMNN).

Monitoring trophic status using in situ data and Sentinel-2 MSI algorithm: lesson from Lake Malombe, Malawi.

With excessive nutrient enrichment exacerbated by anthropogenic drivers, many standing water bodies are changing from oligotrophic to mesotrophic, eutrophic, and finally hypertrophic-negatively affecting ecosystem functioning, biodiversity, and human populations. Efforts have been devoted to developing novel algorithms for estimating chlorophyll-a (chl-a), cyno-blooms, and floating vegetation. However, to this date, little research has focused on freshwater lakes in the data-scarce Sub-Saharan African countries such as Malawi.

Willingness to pay for the ecological restoration of an inland freshwater shallow lake: case of Lake Malombe, Malawi.

Lake Malombe is ranked among the most vulnerable inland freshwater shallow lakes in Malawi. The lake has lost over US$79.83 million ecosystem service values from 1999 to 2019 due to rapid population growth, increased poverty, landscape transformation, and over exploitation-hampering the effort to achieve United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, life underwater (SDG 14), life on land (SDG 15), climate action (SDG 13), and no poverty (SDG 1) and Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Impact of land use/land cover dynamics on ecosystem service value-a case from Lake Malombe, Southern Malawi.

Lake Malombe ecosystem provides a vast range of services that are vital for the sustenance of the riparian communities. Understanding land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics, as well as the associated impacts on the multiple ecosystem service value (ESV), is extremely important in decision-making processes and effective implementation of an ecosystem-based management approach. This study analyzed the LULC dynamics from 1989 to 2019.

Monitoring of carbaryl and cypermethrin concentrations in water and soil in Southern Malawi.

Carbaryl (a carbamate insecticide) and cypermethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide) are extensively used in agriculture. However, the presence of these insecticides in the environment constitutes a significant source of ecological contamination. This study determined the levels of these insecticides in Lisungwi, Neno District, a cotton-growing area in Southern Malawi.