Abstract
There is an apparent nexus between the development of plantations and changes in landcover. The Meme-Mungo Corridor is an example par excellence of a tropical plantation corridor in Cameroon which has witnessed significant expansion in tropical plantations of cocoa, banana, rubber and oil palm, among others. This paper analyzes the connection between land cover changes and plantation development over a 42-year period (1960 and 2012). A total of 100 households were sampled using the systematic sampling technique. Furthermore, multispectral data, obtained from the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF, 2005) were used in the classification of the study area. These images were processed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) software and further compiled into a GIS database using ESRI ArcGIS software. The results showed that between 1960 and 2012, a more than 50% increase in the surface area of plantation crops was registered, leadingto a corresponding change in the land cover situation. Based on this, the study probed into the implications of further plantation development on land cover; further land cover changes could be attributed to the extension of plantations. This paperrecommends among others, the need for intensive agriculture to be encouraged so as to ensure an increase in agricultural output against the backdrop of a decline in agricultural space. Furthermore, augmenting agro-product value chains will stem the loss of agro-produce due to perishability. This will contribute to regulate extensive plantation development in the area.
Highlights
It has been observed that very few landscapes remain on the earth today that have not undergone significant alterations, or have not been subjected to some form of modification by mankind in a bid to satisfy his ever increasing demand (Balgah, 2007; Balgah & Kimengsi, 2016; Kimengsi et al, 2017)
5.1 Plantation Development From the results obtained, it was observed that an increase in the number of plantations, the expansion of existing plantations and the growth of smallholder schemes are crucial indicators of plantation development in the Meme-Mungo Area (Figure 3)
This led to a corresponding change in the land cover situation; in 1975, the land cover situation stood at 485 sq km, it moved to 675 sqkm in 1986 and by 2012, the situation stood at 1350sq km (Table 2)
Summary
It has been observed that very few landscapes remain on the earth today that have not undergone significant alterations, or have not been subjected to some form of modification by mankind in a bid to satisfy his ever increasing demand (Balgah, 2007; Balgah & Kimengsi, 2016; Kimengsi et al, 2017). It is important to remark that one of the fundamental changes in land cover in most tropical areas could be attributed to the extensification of agriculture through plantation development This situation is discernable in the Meme-Mungo area of Cameron which could be described as a plantation corridor. Fundamental changes in land cover in most tropical areas could be attributed to the extensification of agriculture through plantation development This situation is discernable in the Meme-Mungo Area of Cameron which could be described as a plantation corridor. While studies have investigated the role of plantations in development (Kimengsi et al, 2016), including the population problem linked to plantation development (Kimengsi & Lambi, 2015), the role of plantations in precipitating land cover changes have hardly received significant research attention This concerns the Meme-Mungo area of Cameroon. This paper seeks to establish a link between plantation development and land cover changes, and suggests ways of introducing land management practices that will curb the rate of land cover change which, by implication, refers to alterations in the biophysical environment
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