Estimating above ground biomass as an indicator of carbon storage in vegetated wetlands of the grassland biome of South Africa

•Sentinel 1A and 2A can assess wetland AGB at a finer spatial resolution with comparable accuracies to that of WorldView-3, yet at no cost.•The results demonstrated the capability of being able to assess AGB for wetlands that are narrow in extent which previously were not detectable.•The predicted AGB maps depicted an AGB range which was significantly different between wetland and dryland grass types.•The monitoring of wetlands in semi-arid countries is possible while providing information on their regional productivity and functionality.