Spatio-temporal changes in land use and forest cover in the Asutifi North District of Ahafo Region of Ghana, (1986–2020)

Abstract

Land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes affect the capacity of landscapes to provide forest and non-timber forest products and other ecosystem services. Because of that, information is needed on the causes and the extent of these changes to be able to develop the appropriate management strategies for restoring the forest cover and associated ecosystem services. Using remote sensing techniques, spatio-temporal changes were estimated for the period between 1986 and 2020 with the aim to determine the extent of forest cover changes in the Asutifi North District of Ahafo Region of Ghana and to make suggestions about how to manage those areas. The following five Land-use and land-cover classes were classified namely, water bodies/swampy areas, forest, builtup/barelands, open vegetation and mining areas. The results show that forest is the main land-use and land-cover (LULC) that has decreased sharply from approximately 59 thousand hectares in 1986 to 34 thousand hectares by 2020. This reduction in the forest cover may be attributed to expanded agricultural activities that are also a result of population increase. Other related land uses such as mining and built-up areas were also found to be significant contributors to deforestation in the area. The study concludes that LULC have changed significantly over the years and may drive changes in the landscape's ability to provide ecosystem services. Management strategies must be developed to address these changes and any such strategy should consider the population increases and poor anthropogenic practices occurring within these landscapes. Agriculture intensification and practicing of climate-smart agriculture may be the only viable long-term options for achieving food and environmental security.