Wildlife habitat suitability analysis and mapping the former dhidhessa wildlife sanctuary using GIS-based analytical hierarchal process and weighted linear combination methods

Abstract

Management of wildlife populations and the creation of conservation programs depend on the evaluation of wildlife habitats. Habitat suitability mapping is a technique typically used to map appropriate environmental factors and assess species existence in different areas. This study aims to map wildlife habitat suitability sites in Former Dhidhessa wildlife sanctuary, Ethiopia, using GIS-based Analytical Hierarchal Process and Weighted Linear Combination Methods. This study used both primary and secondary data sources. Datasets used to collect data include Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Landsat 9 (OLI/TIRS) and population data. Beside, large mammalian species occurrence data obtained from field survey was used. To map wildlife habitat suitability sites in Former Dhidhessa wildlife sanctuary, environmental factors such as proximity of road network, distance to surface water, land use land cover types, slope, population density and topography were used with the integration of species occurrence data recorded from the study area. These environmental factors scaled to common ranges, and assigned appropriate weights. The quantile classification method was utilized to classify suitability index into five zones (unsuitable, less suitable, moderately suitable, suitable, and highly suitable) to produce the map. Accordingly, the model revealed that 18.9 % of the study area is highly suitable, 19.5 % is suitable, 19.9 % is moderately suitable, 19.5 % is less suitable, and 22.2 % is unsuitable for wildlife. About 58.3 % of the study area is currently identified as suitable for wildlife whereas 41.7 % is unsuitable. This showed that the former Dhidhessa wildlife sanctuary is still having large suitable habitats that can support wide ranges of wildlife. Hence, based on the developed preliminary habitat suitability indices and maps, the federal and local governments shall reevaluate the status of former Dhidhessa wildlife sanctuary and develop future conservation and management plans to enhance the conservation of wildlife and their habitats in the area.