Research staff
Juno Rouwenhorst
Research Associate and MSc Student
Email: juno.rouwenhorst@students.cdu.edu.au
Thesis: Land cover change and coastline evolution in Caraulun catchment, Timor-Lest
Research Associate Timor-Leste Coastal / Marine Habitat Mapping Project
The Coastal and Marine Habitat Mapping Project that forms part of the “Timor-Leste Coastal and Marine Habitat Mapping for Tourism and Fisheries Development Project” – a collaboration between CDU, the NT government, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of the government of Timor-Leste, AIMS, and ANU – is well on its way. Recently a team consisting of members from CDU and the NT government travelled to Timor-Leste to carry out ground-truthing fieldwork along the north coast of the country.
In Dili, Dr Guy Boggs, Peter Brocklehurst (Land and Water Division, NT government), Ian Cowie (Herbarium, NT government), and Juno met up with MAFF staff José Monteiro (Fisheries), Adriano “Dani” Fernandes do Karmo (Fisheries), and Joaõ “John” D.M. dos Reis (Forestry) and travelled along the north coast towards the east, stopping for fieldwork at Metinaro, Manatuto, Baucau, and Com over the period of six days. The fieldwork consisted of taking GPS points in the different coastal land cover and habitat classes found in the study areas, and determining whether classes obtained using object-based classification methods corresponded to the land covers found on the ground. Detailed notes were also taken on crown cover, crown density, average height, ground cover, and dominant species for each vegetation layer. Particular attention was paid to mangrove areas for detailed vegetation mapping that will likely be undertaken in the near future.
Simple as it may sound, it involved a lot of climbing over mangrove roots, walking through ankle-deep – and at some stages even knee-deep – mud and crossing the occasional river (which, they were told only after they had crossed it, contained crocodiles).
On the day that the above team returned to Australia, Prof Karen Edyvane (Marine Biodiversity, NT government) and a team of DNRETA staff and CDU students arrived in Timor-Leste to carry out more ground-truthing fieldwork together with MAFF staff, this time recording data about the marine benthos for validating marine habitat mapping of the north coast and marine park carried out by TSSG.
It is hoped that their trip will prove to be just as successful for all involved as the first one was, and we look forward to carrying out a more extensive trip including the Tutuala/Jaco Island and Lore regions on the south coast later next year.
