Abstract
Forests are important in the lives of local communities as they provide poles for construction, wood fuel for cooking, help reduce soil erosion and provide various foods and medicines due to biodiversity. Most local communities depend on forests in supplementing their livelihoods. At the moment, forests are being lost and it is important to understand the impacts of the lost. Therefore, the objective of the study was to provide a holistic evaluation of the impacts of deforestation on ecosystem services in Kamfinsa sub-catchment of Kitwe in Zambia. Loss of forest biomass, biodiversity, and soil erosion were key proxy variables for loss of ecosystem services. Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote sensing techniques were used to assess the impacts on the ecosystem. The results showed that deforestation reached 576.3 ha per year during the period studied. The forest loss corresponds to an emission of 43.73 ton of carbon per hectare from above and below ground biomass valued at US$243.60 per hectare. According to this research soil erosion risk assessment, 1.59 ton of soil was lost per hectare per year, equivalent to US$ 57.20 loss per hectare. The indigenous forest cover reduced from 13,430.5 ha (1990) to 2,904.7 ha (2010), with a corresponding change in NDVI index for loss of forest vigor and biodiversity of 0.56 and 0.32, respectively. The major forest loss occurred from indigenous forests. The study has shown that deforestation in Kamfinsa sub-catchment area calls for the urgent promotion of an integrated and comprehensive approach to addressing the drivers of deforestation to ensure continued supply of ecosystem services. Key words: Carbon budget, carbon dioxide, emission, forestry, land degradation, natural resource management, remote sensing, water-shade.
Highlights
Ecosystems drive the primary environmental cycles such as the continuous circulation of water, carbon, and other nutrients
In the entire Miombo eco-region, Zambia has the highest diversity of trees and is the centre for endemism for Brachystegia tree species (Kalaba et al, 2013)
The results demonstrate that Kamfinsa subcatchment area lost about 572 ha of forests annually between 1990 to 2010 at a cost of US$244 per hectare and an estimated loss of 1.59 ton per hectare of soil annually at an estimated cost of US$57 per hectare
Summary
Ecosystems drive the primary environmental cycles such as the continuous circulation of water, carbon, and other nutrients. The water, food and raw materials needed for human livelihood security originate from the ecosystems. Surrounding human settlements (Falkenmark, 2003). According to Digest (Evans, 2005), human activities have modified these natural cycles, especially in the last 50 years by increasing their freshwater use, carbon dioxide emissions and fertilizer use, which has affected the ecosystem's ability to provide benefits to humans. The nature and value of earth's life support systems have largely been ignored until their disruption or loss highlighted their importance (Evans, 2005)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
