Land Use And Land Cover Dynamics Research Articles

Assessment of Environmental Water Security of an Asian Deltaic Megacity and Its Peri-Urban Wetland Areas

Achieving urban water security requires sustaining the trade-offs between the exploitation of water/environmental resources and ecosystem services. This achievement not only reduces the pollution and contamination in the environment, level of water stress, but also secures good ambient water quality and future for people’s well-being and livelihoods. Changes in land use and land cover and growth of impervious structures can immediately generate severe ecological and social issues and increase the level of natural or manmade risks, affecting the condition of ecosystem services within and in the vicinity of an urban region. As a result of these transformations and further exploitation, due to the growing anthropogenic pressure, surface water and groundwater quality can be deteriorated compared to ambient water quality standards (for both chemical and biological pollutants). Based on land use and land cover (LULC) data retrieved from remote sensing interpretation, we computed the changes of the ecosystem service values (ESV) associated with the LULC dynamics, water quality and, finally, urban water security during the pre- and post-monsoon periods of 2009, 2014 and 2019 in Kolkata, an Asian deltaic megacity, and its peri-urban wetlands named East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). The area under wetlands reduced comprehensively in 2009–2019 due to the conversion of wetlands into various other classes such as urban settlement, etc. The quality of surface water bodies (such as rivers, lakes, canals and inland wetlands) deteriorated. The groundwater quality is still under control, but the presence of arsenic, manganese and other metals are a clear indication of urban expansion and related activities in the area. As a result, there was a change in the ESV during this timeframe. In the pre-monsoon period, there was an increase in total ESV from US$53.14 million in 2009 to US$53.36 million and US$59.01 million in 2014 and 2019, respectively. In the post-monsoon period, the ESV decreased from US$67.42 million in 2009 to US$64.13 and US$61.89 million in 2014 and 2019, respectively. These changes can be attributed to the peri-urban wetlands and the benefits or services arising out of them that contribute more than 50% of the total ESV. This study found that the area under wetlands has reduced comprehensively in the past 10 years due to the conversion of wetlands for various other uses such as urban expansion of the Kolkata City, but still, this peri-urban wetland supports the urban water security by providing sufficient ecosystem services. In conclusion, the transformation in extent of the water-related ecosystem is a crucial indicator of urban water security, which also measures the quantity of water contained in various water-related ecosystems. Quantitative analysis of the LULC change, hence, is important for studying the corresponding impact on the ecosystem service value (ESV) and water quality that helps in decision-making in securing urban water future and ecosystem conservation.

Dynamics of forage and land cover changes in Teltele district of Borana rangelands, southern Ethiopia: using geospatial and field survey data

BackgroundThe gradual conversion of rangelands into other land use types is one of the main challenges affecting the sustainable management of rangelands in Teltele. This study aimed to examine the changes, drivers, trends in land use and land cover (LULC), to determine the link between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and forage biomass and the associated impacts of forage biomass production dynamics on the Teltele rangelands in Southern Ethiopia. A Combination of remote sensing data, field interviews, discussion and observations data were used to examine the dynamics of LULC between 1992 and 2019 and forage biomass production.ResultsThe result indicate that there is a marked increase in farm land (35.3%), bare land (13.8%) and shrub land (4.8%), while the reduction found in grass land (54.5%), wet land (69.3%) and forest land (10.5%). The larger change in land observed in both grassland and wetland part was observed during the period from 1995–2000 and 2015–2019, this is due to climate change impact (El-Niño) happened in Teltele rangeland during the year 1999 and 2016 respectively. The quantity of forage in different land use/cover types, grass land had the highest average amount of forage biomass of 2092.3 kg/ha, followed by wetland with 1231 kg/ha, forest land with 1191.3 kg/ha, shrub land with 180 kg/ha, agricultural land with 139.5 kg/ha and bare land with 58.1 kg/ha.ConclusionsThe significant linkage observed between NDVI and LULC change types (when a high NDVI value, the LULC changes also shows positive value or an increasing trend). In addition, NDVI value directly related to the greenness status of vegetation occurred on each LULC change types and its value directly linkage forage biomass production pattern with grassland land use types. 64.8% (grass land), 43.3% (agricultural land), 75.1% (forest land), 50.6% (shrub land), 80.5% (bare land) and 75.5% (wet land) more or higher dry biomass production in the wet season compared to the dry season.

Ecological Risk Assessment Based on Land Cover Changes: A Case of Zanzibar (Tanzania)

Land use and land cover (LULC) under improper land management is a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa and has drastically affected ecological security. Addressing environmental impacts related to this challenge requires efficient planning strategies based on the measured information of land use patterns. This study assessed the ecological risk index (ERI) of Zanzibar based on LULC. A random forest classifier was used to classify three Landsat images of Zanzibar for the years 2003, 2009, and 2018. Then, a land change model was employed to simulate the LULC changes for 2027 under a business-as-usual (BAU), conservation, and extreme scenarios. Results showed that the built-up areas and farmland of Zanzibar Island have increased constantly, while the natural grassland and forest cover have decreased. The forest, agricultural, and grassland were highly fragmented into several small patches. The ERI of Zanzibar Island increased at a constant rate and, if the current trend continues, this index will increase by up to 8.9% in 2027 under an extreme scenario. If a conservation scenario is adopted, the ERI will increase by 4.6% whereas if a BAU policy is followed, this value will increase by 6.2%. This study provides authorities with useful information to understand better the ecological processes and LULC dynamics and prevent unmanaged growth and haphazard development of informal housing and infrastructure.

Integrated assessment of land-use/land-cover dynamics on carbon storage services in the Loess Plateau of China from 1995 to 2050

Understanding the impacts of large-scale anthropogenic drivers on spatiotemporal processes in carbon storage through land-use patterns is a growing issue for the assessment of terrestrial ecosystems. However, an integrated assessment of changes in carbon storage, entailing complex land-use and land-cover (LULC) dynamics, remains a challenge. This study assessed the consequences of LULC changes on regional carbon storage in the Loess Plateau from 1995 to 2050 by integrating spatially explicit LULC and carbon models using multi-source data and typical scenarios. A Markov-CA model was used to model past LULC dynamics, which was followed by future projections under different LULC scenarios. Each scenario represented different socio-economic trajectories, including historical trend, ecological priority, and urban priority. The integrated valuation of the ecosystem service and tradeoffs (InVEST) carbon storage model and statistical methods were then used to assess spatiotemporal changes in the regional carbon storage associated with LULC dynamics. The results indicated that the ecological priority scenario could increase carbon storage by 11.36 Pg between 2015 and 2050. This is due to an increase in the carbon storage capacity in grasslands, shrub forest, and evergreen coniferous forest, indicating that ecological restoration could increase carbon sequestration. This mitigates the carbon loss caused by the rapid expansion of built-up land and fluctuations in cropland, which often takes place in the urban priority and historical trend scenarios. In favor of targeting the northwestern and central regions with socioeconomic benefits, grasslands and forests should be further promoted in the Loess Plateau. The findings will help implement long-term carbon sequestration strategies for ecosystem conservation.

Land use/land cover change dynamics and their effects on land surface temperature in the western region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

In recent years, the impacts associated with changes in land use and land cover (LULC) over natural processes have received attention. Examining these changes can assist in urban/rural planning activities, temperature change analysis, and environmental monitoring. Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the main physical parameters used to measure the impacts proportioned by LULC changes. Several studies have investigated the implications of LULC changes over LST variations using remote sensing data. However, this dynamic remains unknown in multiple environmentally important areas, like the western region of Sao Paulo state, Brazil, where one last remnant of the Atlantic Forest biome is located. This paper demonstrates that significant LST differences exist in distinct LULC classes. Results indicated that bare soil and pasture areas contribute to increasing LST values, while water bodies and arboreous vegetation attenuate them. As the LULC pattern changes, it reflects on both LST and air temperature. Over a 30-year analysis in the studied area, the LST increased 3.50 °C (0.117 °C per year). This multi-temporal analysis was based on four winter/autumn periods: 1987, 1997, 2007, and 2017, using images from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper sensor for 1987 to 2007 and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor sensors for 2017. A supervised classification was applied to create LULC maps for each period. These findings bring a multi-temporal environmental diagnosis to the region, which is important to optimize future environmental planning actions like the restoration of degraded areas. It is inferred that continuous monitoring of LULC dynamics is required to devise sustainable land use policies in favor of environmental protection and regional economic development.

Detecting and Analyzing Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Region of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya Using Time-Series Landsat Data from 1985 to 2017

The region of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar in northeastern Libya has undergone rapid, wide-ranging changes in the land use and land cover (LULC) intensified by the conversion of natural resources for food purpose, urbanization, and other socioeconomic benefits. This study examined the use of geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques to gain a quantitative understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC. In addition, the major factors behind LULC changes and decline of natural vegetation in the region were analyzed. A post-classification comparison approach was used to detect LULC changes in the study area between 1985 and 2017 using four Landsat images from 1985, 2000, 2010, and 2017. The observed changes were indicative of a decrease in the expanse of the natural Mediterranean forest which lost 9018 ha over 32 years, 39% of its total area, with the highest deforestation rate registered between 2010 and 2017 estimated at 513 ha. year−1. Orchards and rain-fed agriculture lands gained 4095 ha, which matches 55% of initial area, whereas the land under irrigated crops increased by 2266 ha, about 85% of the original area. The area of urban and built-up land in 2017 was more than double in 1985 and achieved the highest urbanization rate between 2010 and 2017 at 203 ha.year−1. Results indicate an unstable trend of bare and low vegetation lands which generally increased by about 50%. From the outcomes of this research, it is strongly recommended that urgent measures be taken to conserve the natural forest and to achieve a rational use of agricultural land in the region of Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar.

Land-use and land-cover change in Lake Ziway watershed of the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley Region and its environmental impacts

Assessing land use and land cover (LULC) change in Lake Ziway watershed is important to evaluate the degradation of ecosystems and their environmental processes caused by the ongoing increase in human pressures. The present study analyzed the long-term LULC dynamics in the Lake Ziway watershed, which covers 7300 km2 in the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley region. Three Landsat Satellite Image Series - Landsat MSS (1973), Landsat TM (1989) and Landsat Enhanced ETM+ (2018) - were the main input data from which three LULC maps were produced by employing Remote Sensing Techniques and Geographical Information Systems. The satellite data were supported by Google Earth and information gathered from informal discussions from local elderly people who are knowledgeable aboutthe area. The results over the last 45 years show that the major LULC changes in the study watershed have been the expansion of cultivated, agroforestry and settlement areas and the corresponding reduction in woodlands. Cultivation, agroforestry, and settlement LULC categories increased by 45%, 10.9%, and 141.4%, respectively. These changes are attributable to a combination of the ever increasing human population and the subsequent demands on environmental resources like agricultural lands, commercial and domestic fuelwood and charcoal. Other factors include poorly defined ownership arrangements and weak enforcement strategies on the existing land use policy. This has created open access mentalities among communities and intensified LULC changes in the watershed. Awareness raising and provision of technical training about conservation interventions should be provided to communities in the watershed.This study provides information for corrective measures to protect further degradation and irreversible losses that might happen to the biotic and abiotic resources in Lake Ziway watershed.

Understanding Land use/Land cover dynamics and impacts of human activities in the Mekong Delta over the last 40 years

The Mekong Delta is the third largest delta in the world, and a globally recognized agricultural production zone and biodiversity hotspot. In recent decades, land use and land cover (LULC) in the Mekong Delta has undergone tremendous changes due to increasing anthropogenic activities. However, accurate and long-term LULC mapping products for the entire delta are scarce. This study aims to use the Landsat and Chinese HJ-1B satellite images for nearly 40 years to detect the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC in the Mekong Delta applying the classification and regression trees (CART) technique and analyze its driving factors. Seven main LULC categories were identified with an overall accuracy of 89–94%. We generated seven LULC maps of the whole Mekong Delta from 1979 to 2015 at a 30 m spatial resolution. The results showed that the area of aquaculture and residential land increased, while the area of mangroves, planting land, other forests, wasteland, and unused land decreased from 1979 to 2015. The planting land has been the dominant land use type in the delta since 1979, and still occupied over 72% of the delta area in 2015. The change to aquaculture is most pronounced in all LULC categories, with its percentage of area in the delta increasing to 19% in 2015. With the transformation of large-scale inland planting land into aquaculture ponds, aquaculture has become the second largest land use type following the planting land in the Mekong Delta from the late 20th century. Although the mangrove area showed only slight reduction during 1979–2015, the degree of patch fragmentation increased significantly. We found that the rapid changes of the LULC were mainly driven by economic development and land policies. This study gives insights into LULC dynamics and provides a valuable dataset for regional sustainable development planning and ecological assessment in the Mekong Delta.

A Spatiotemporal Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Peri-Urban Areas: A Case Study of Arshaly District, Kazakhstan

In this study, the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) were evaluated in the peri-urban area of the Arshaly district, which borders the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Landsat multispectral images were used to study the changes in LULC. The analysis of LULC dynamics was carried out using supervised classification with a multi-temporal interval (1998, 2008, and 2018). During the study period, noticeable changes occurred in LULC. There was an increase in the area of arable land and forests and a reduction in the pastures. There was a sharp increase in the built-up area; that is, there was an intensification of land use through an increase in the share of arable land as well as the transformation of agricultural land for development. However, in general, the influence of urban sprawl in this peri-urban area has so far been accompanied by only a slight focus on its sustainable development.

Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network and Markov Chain Based Geospatial Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Change

We combined multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network and Markov Chain (MC) modeling with object-based image analysis (OBIA) to map and predict land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Stoney Creek Watershed (SCW), British Columbia, Canada. Unsupervised classification was performed using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) images to produce LULC maps of years 1986, 1999 and 2016. The classification resulted in an overall accuracy of 91.50%. The results show that coniferous forest in SCW experienced a sharp loss while agriculture area increased (4.77% land gain) from 1986 to 2016. LULC scenarios were predicted through MLP neural network and MC modeling based on LULC change analysis data and transition potential. The results indicated that ‘Coniferous Forest’ LULC type had the highest (3.38% land loss) transition potential and ‘Water’ and ‘Urban Area’ LULC types had the lowest transition potential. Application of the proposed method provided valuable information of LULC patterns and dynamics for planners and researchers. The method also has the potential for improved management in other watersheds with similar LULC types.

Land-use and land-cover dynamics and their drivers in the central highlands of Ethiopia with special reference to the Lake Wanchi watershed

Land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes have been recognized universally as fundamental constituents of global biodiversity and ecosystem services change driver. The objectives of this study were analyzing the spatial and temporal LULC dynamics over the past 44 years and identifying the major drivers of these changes. It was conducted in the central highlands of Ethiopia at the social-ecological Lake Wanchi watershed. The study triangulated data from Landsat images of four different time series, ground verifications, focus group discussions, key informants interview, and quantitative analytical approach. The Landsat imageries were processed and analyzed using ArcGIS 10.3 software. Supervised classification was executed using the maximum likelihood technique. The non-quantifiable data were analyzed using qualitative descriptions and the quantitative analytical approach was used to rank the degree of LULC change drivers. About 62% of the land area in the study watershed experienced LULC conversions. Wetlands, forest-cover, shrub-cover, and water body converted (declined) annually at a rate of 3.3%, 1.4%, 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively. Croplands, bare lands, agroforestry, and settlements, expanded annually at the rate of 10.2%, 5.7%, 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Agricultural activities, wood extraction, settlement expansion, and infrastructure constructions were proximate LULC change drivers, while, demographic changes, community conflict, and land tenure policy were the underlying change drivers. To mitigate the rapid LULC changes and safeguard the social-ecological benefits at the local watershed and distant downstream systems of Lake Wanchi, rehabilitation of the watershed specifically, the natural vegetation covers and environmentally sensitive areas, through the application of integrated watershed management strategies is critically important.

Spatiotemporal variability in spate irrigation systems in Khirthar National Range, Sindh, Pakistan (case study)

Satellite remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) have been used successfully to monitor and assess the land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics and their impacts on people and the environment. LULC change detection is essential for studying spatiotemporal conditions and for proposing better future planning and development options. The current research analyzes the detection of spatiotemporal variability of spate irrigation systems using remote sensing and GIS in the Khirthar National Range, Sindh Province of Pakistan. We use Landsat images to study the dynamics of LULC using ArcGIS software and categorize five major LULC types. We obtain secondary data related to precipitation and crop yield from the provincial department of revenue. The maximum likelihood supervised classification (MLSC) procedure, augmented with secondary data, reveals a significant increase of 86.25% in settlements, 83.85% in spate irrigation systems, and 65% in vegetation, and a substantial negative trend of 39.50% in water bodies and 20% in barren land during the period from 2013 to 2018. Our study highlights an increase in settlements due to the inflow of local population for better means of living and an increase in spate irrigation systems, which indicates the water conservation practices for land cultivation and human purpose lead to the shrinkage of water bodies. The confusion matrix using Google Earth data to rectify modeled (classified) data, which showed an overall accuracy of 82.8%–92%, and the Kappa coefficient estimated at 0.80–0.90 shows the satisfactory results of the LULC classification. The study suggests the need to increase water storage potential with the appropriate water conservation techniques to enhance the spate irrigation system in the hilly tracts for sustainable developments, which mitigates drought impact and reduces migration rate by providing more opportunities through agricultural activities in the study area.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land-use and Land-cover Dynamics of Adama District, Ethiopia and Its Implication to Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Uncontrolled change in land use and land cover (LULC) enhances the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This study, therefore, is aimed at the spatiotemporal analysis of LULC dynamics and their implications for the greenhouse gas emissions of the Adama district of Ethiopia. The dry season Landsat image Thematic Mapper (TM) of 1986, Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) of 2000, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+ ) of 2014 were downloaded from the United States Geological Survey Global Visualization Viewer Website and employed. The hybrid classification approach was performed after the preprocessing of the image. Moreover, observations, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were used. The analysis was carried out using the image data and survey data. The result indicates that agricultural land and shrub and bush lands covered 80.98%, 76.75%, and 74.42% of the study area during 1986, 2000, and 2014, respectively. Although there were differences in the magnitudes and rates of change during the considered years, the LULC classification results of this study indicated that most natural environments are converted to human-dominated environments, which can be attributed to human-induced activities. Due to this conversion, environmental degradation is aggravated, which again paves the way for the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The study concludes that, largely as a result of interventions from the communities living in the area, the study area is being transformed from the natural ecosystem to a managed environment. Hence, the practices of smallholder farmers with respect to protected areas, afforestation, and reforestation must be strengthened and supported by an integrated policy framework. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;00:1-13. © 2019 SETAC.

Simulating urban land use and cover dynamics using cellular automata and Markov chain approach in Addis Ababa and the surrounding

Efficient Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) monitoring and management require awareness of previous dynamics, current trends, and predictions of future developments. Understanding such an urban dynamics is, thus, necessary to deliberate a proper urban growth management approach. The study is aimed to simulate the LULC dynamics and develop a scenario-based LULC prediction for sustainable urban growth planning and management in the case of Addis Ababa and the surrounding area. The research employed a hybrid Cellular Automata, Markov chain (CA-Markov) and Multi-criteria Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) modeling approach. Accordingly, the research depicted continuous historical increment of Built-up spaces by consuming other ecologically valuable LULC classes. The quantitative measures of landscape metrics confirmed the benefit of Ecologically Sensitive Scenario (ESS) modeling as compared to Business As Usual Scenario (BAUS) as it keeps the dynamism of the city region more sustainable. ESS modeling enables an urban system to grow into a better way by making built-up augmentation relatively mild and controlling water bodies, forests and cultivated land losses. Therefore, this scenario-based simulation of the LULC dynamics providing decision-making options for those who strive for sustainable urban growth planning and management not only in the study region but also other similar cities.

Variations in ecosystem service value in response to land use/land cover changes in Central Asia from 1995-2035.

Acute farmland expansion and rapid urbanization in Central Asia have accelerated land use/land cover changes, which have substantial effects on ecosystem services. However, the spatiotemporal variations in ecosystem service values (ESVs) in Central Asia are not well understood. Here, based on land use products with 300-m resolution for the years 1995, 2005 and 2015 and transfer methodology, we predicted land use and land cover (LULC) for 2025 and 2035 using CA-Markov, assessed changes in ESVs in response to LULC dynamics, and explored the elasticity of the response of ESV to LULC changes. We found significant expansions of cropland (+22.10%) and urban areas (+322.40%) and shrinking of water bodies (−38.43%) and bare land (−9.42%) during 1995–2035. The combined value of ecosystem services of water bodies, cropland, and grassland accounted for over 90% of the total ESVs. Our study showed that cropland ecosystem services value increased by 93.45 billion US$ from 1995 to 2035, which was mainly caused by the expansion of cropland area. However, the area of water bodies decreased sharply during 1995–2035, causing a loss of 64.38 billion US$. Biodiversity, food production and water regulation were major ecosystem service functions, accounting for 80.52% of the total ESVs. Our results demonstrated that effective land-use policies should be made to control farmland expansion and protect water bodies, grassland and forestland for more sustainable ecosystem services.

Impact of agrarian land use and land cover practices on survival and conservation of nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in and around the Abohar wildlife sanctuary, northwestern India

ABSTRACTThere is an information gap on biodiversity effects of land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics of agrarian landscapes. Such data are essential for policy making and species management in agro-ecosystems. Thus, changes in LULC inside the Abohar wildlife sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone were investigated using LISS-III satellite images from 2003 to 2016. The area under cropland witnessed a 3.6% increase, whereas wastelands significantly declined by 4.3%. Further, the impact of LULC dynamics on nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) was determined through mortality distribution in the sanctuary from 2012 to 2017. The spatio-temporal distribution pattern of mortality revealed that a total of 336 nilgai died during the six years studied. Free-ranging feral dogs, in conjunction with fencing and road accidents, were the major factors involved in nilgai casualty. Fatalities were clustered in regions with significant LULC change. The results confirmed that intensified development and reuse of derelict agricultural fields disturbed nilgai ecology and habitat use pattern. Human-wildlife conflicts in agrarian landscapes are an increasing concern and should be managed following identification of sensitive areas.

Rule-based, hierarchical land use and land cover classification of urban and peri-urban agriculture in data-poor regions with RapidEye satellite imagery: a case study of Nakuru, Kenya

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is of high importance for city dwellers especially in medium-sized cities in sub-Saharan Africa as it fulfills a wide range of multifunctional urban needs. However, the extent of recent agricultural land use dynamics in sub-Saharan African cities under rapid urbanization so far remains unclear. This study assessed the operationality of a rule-based, hierarchical classification of RapidEye satellite imagery to monitor land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics from 2010 to 2017 with a focus on UPA and its patch sizes on the example of the rapidly growing medium-sized city Nakuru, Kenya. The hierarchical system was able to provide a high-resolution, multitemporal, area-wide data set, and proved beneficial through a high flexibility in considering each class separately. Though the approach offered limitations in distinguishing between agricultural crops, the produced data set gave insights about intense LULC dynamics and high land use pressure indicated, in particular, by an increase of sealed areas by 83%, an ongoing expansion of agricultural land and high variations in the detected classes between the years. In the context of data shortage, the findings contribute to the understanding of urbanization patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.

Local Perception of Drivers of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Dynamics across Dedza District, Central Malawi Region

Research on Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) dynamics, and an understanding of the drivers responsible for these changes, are very crucial for modelling future LULC changes and the formulation of sustainable and robust land-management strategies and policy decisions. This study adopted a mixed method consisting of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analysis, focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews covering 586 households to assess LULC dynamics and associated LULC change drivers across the Dedza district, a central region of Malawi. GIS-based analysis of remotely sensed data revealed that barren land and built-up areas extensively increased at the expense of agricultural and forest land between 1991 and 2015. Analysis of the household-survey results revealed that the perceptions of respondents tended to validate the observed patterns during the remotely sensed data-analysis phase of the research, with 57.3% (n = 586) of the respondents reporting a decline in agricultural land use, and 87.4% (n = 586) observing a decline in forest areas in the district. Furthermore, firewood collection, charcoal production, population growth, and poverty were identified as the key drivers of these observed LULC changes in the study area. Undoubtedly, education has emerged as a significant factor influencing respondents’ perceptions of these drivers of LULC changes. However, unsustainable LULC changes observed in this study have negative implications on rural livelihoods and natural-resource management. Owing to the critical role that LULC dynamics play to rural livelihoods and the ecosystem, this study recommends further research to establish the consequences of these changes. The present study and future research will support decision makers and planners in the design of tenable and coherent land-management strategies.

Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in the North-Eastern Somali Rangelands of Eastern Ethiopia

Drastic changes have occurred in Siti zone rangeland over nearly the last three decades, due to rapid land conversion dynamics in the area. In the zone, the land-use change over time and space and temporal trends rangeland condition have never been studied. This study analyzed land use and land cover (LULC) change dynamics since the 1980s. Three dates, 1985, 2001 and 2017, Landsat images were used for classification and analysis of the various LULC. The three images were geo-referenced, re-sampled and processed for classification, using the maximum likelihood classifier algorithm. Moreover, field observations and information from local people were used for triangulation to patterns LULC dynamics. From 1985 to 2017, the general trend observed in the land use/cover change in the rangeland resources in the study districts implies a loss of grassland cover was compensated by an increase in cultivated areas, settlement and shrub/bush land cover. Moreover, the encroachments of invasive plant, Prosopis, settlement and the promotion of cultivation to pastoral way of livelihood have exacerbated the decline of rangeland cover. The study findings have shown important changes in the LULC patterns in the north-eastern Somali rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. These trends are certainly the characteristics of a pastoral way of life turn to settlement. This suggests that major changes in the socio-ecological driving forces affecting landscape dynamics have occurred in the last three decades or so.

Spatio-temporal land use/cover dynamics and its implication for sustainable land use in Wanka watershed, northwestern highlands of Ethiopia

Long -term land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics information is essential to understand the trends and make necessary land management interventions, such as in the highlands of Ethiopia. This study analyzed six decades of LULC dynamics of Wanka watershed, Northwestern Ethiopian highlands. Two sets of aerial photographs (1957 and 2017), SPOT 5 and sentinel satellite imageries were analyzed. In addition, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and field observations were used to identify the drivers and impact of LULC change. It was found that cultivated and rural settlement land (CRSL), bare land, and urban built up area have been continuously expanded at the expenses of mainly forest and shrub lands. Over the entire study period (1957–2017) while the bare land and CRSL have increased by about 59% and 20% respectively, forest and shrub lands have declined by 59% and 57% respectively. Urban built up area has also expanded. The impact of population pressure and expansion of CRSL land were considerable. The trend of LULC dynamics in the study watershed implies adverse impact on the quality and quantity of the land resource. Hence, appropriate land use planning and strategies that reduce expansion of cultivated land need to be practiced.