Estimating Per Capita Land Use/Land Cover Change (LULCC) in Makurdi, Northcentral Nigeria

Bernard Tarza Tyubee

doi:10.22158/uspa.v4n1p97

Abstract

The study estimated annual and temporal variation in per capita Land Use/Land Cover Change (LULCC) in Makurdi, Northcentral Nigeria. A total of four Landsat TM/ETM+ images were acquired in April of 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 for the study. A total of five LULC types namely water, forest, undergrowth/wetland, cultivated land and built-up land were derived from the Landsat images using supervised classification method. The per capita LULCC was derived by dividing the areas of LULC types by the actual population data. The result showed that built-up land recorded the highest long-term gain in area by 179km2 (130%), with an increment of 8.7% per anum, and undergrowth/wetland lost 119km2 (32%) in area with a decrease of 2.1% per annum from 1991 to 2006. The per capita LULCC of built-up land has increased from 575m2/person (1991) to 1059m2/person (2006), representing an increment of 481m2/person (83%). The undergrowth/wetland recorded the highest decrease in per capita LULCC from 1542m2/person (1991) to 836m2/person (2006), representing a decline by 706m2/person (46%). The study concludes that undergrowth/wetland is the most vulnerable LULC type due to urbanisation, and sustainable urban planning should be practised to conserve the natural cover materials in the study area.

Highlights

One of the consequences of ecological footprints of urbanisation is the radical and irreversible changes in land use/land cover (Grimmond, 2007)
Estimating per capita LULCC is crucial in sustainable urban planning and conservation of natural land resources in Makurdi, one of the fastest growing urban areas in northcentral Nigeria
The result of per capita LULCC suggests that population increase is the primary driver of LULC change occasioned by urban growth and development in Makurdi

Summary

Introduction

One of the consequences of ecological footprints of urbanisation is the radical and irreversible changes in land use/land cover (Grimmond, 2007). The per capita LULCC, derived from dividing the areas of LULC types by the actual population data, is used as a proxy of ecological footprint of urban growth and development (Wilson & Lindsey, 2005; Fenta et al, 2017). According to Newman (2006), increase in population, based on economies of scale and density, can stimulate financial investment in cities, which might lead to urban growth and a decrease in natural land surface cover. The major objectives of the study are to 1) classify land use/land cover types, 2) estimate change in the areas of LULC types and 3) estimate the per capita LULCC in the study area. Estimating per capita LULCC is crucial in sustainable urban planning and conservation of natural land resources in Makurdi, one of the fastest growing urban areas in northcentral Nigeria

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion