Spatial and Temporal Land Cover Changes in the Simen Mountains National Park, a World Heritage Site in Northwestern Ethiopia

Menale Wondie,Demel Teketay,Assefa M Melesse,Werner Schneider

doi:10.3390/rs3040752

Abstract

The trend of land cover (LC) and land cover change (LCC), both in time and space, was investigated at the Simen Mountains National Park (SMNP), a World Heritage Site located in northern Ethiopia, between 1984 and 2003 using Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing (RS). The objective of the study was to generate spatially and temporally quantified information on land cover dynamics, providing the basis for policy/decision makers and resource managers to facilitate biodiversity conservation, including wild animals. Two satellite images (Landsat TM of 1984 and Landsat ETM+ of 2003) were acquired and supervised classification was used to categorize LC types. Ground Control Points were obtained in field condition for georeferencing and accuracy assessment. The results showed an increase in the areas of pure forest (Erica species dominated) and shrubland but a decrease in the area of agricultural land over the 20 years. The overall accuracy and the Kappa value of classification results were 88 and 85%, respectively. The spatial setting of the LC classes was heterogeneous and resulted from the biophysical nature of SMNP and anthropogenic activities. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the existing LC and LCC in connection with wildlife habitat, conservation and management of SMNP.

Highlights

Starting from the beginning of civilization, human-beings have deliberately managed and converted the landscape to utilize and exploit natural resources mainly to derive basic needs such as food, shelter, fresh water, and pharmaceutical products [1]
land cover change (LCC) is a dynamic phenomenon occurring within the interface between human agricultural and ecological systems [2]
Our results provide a springboard to identify the LCC and an overall picture of the Simen Mountains National Park (SMNP), which can serve as a hint to anticipate the trend of land cover, mainly the forest cover

Summary

Introduction

Starting from the beginning of civilization, human-beings have deliberately managed and converted the landscape to utilize and exploit natural resources mainly to derive basic needs such as food, shelter, fresh water, and pharmaceutical products [1]. The increase in population has proportionally increased the demand for resources for centuries; leading to the conversion of natural environmental conditions. Ecological processes and human interventions are facilitating ecosystem changes as a whole and land cover change (LCC) in particular. LCC is a dynamic phenomenon occurring within the interface between human agricultural and ecological systems [2]. In most parts of the world, agriculture is the primary driver of land use change. The main pressure is to convert forests to agricultural uses in order to meet the increasing demands caused by human population growth

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Conclusion