Trends in land use and land cover change in the protected and communal areas of the Zambezi Region,Namibia

Land management decisions have extensively modified land use and land cover in the Zambezi Region. These decisions are influenced by land tenure classifications, legislation, and livelihoods. Land use and land cover change is an important indicator for quantifying the effectiveness of different land management strategies. However, there has been no evidence on whether protected or communal land tenure is more affected by land use and land cover changes in southern Africa and particularly Namibia. Our study attempted to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between land use and land cover change and land tenure regimes stratified according to protected and communal area in the Zambezi Region. Multi-temporal Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery were used to determine the temporal dynamics of land use and land cover change from 1984 to 2010. The landscape showed distinctive modifications over the study period; broad trends include the increase in forest land after 1991. However, changes were not uniform across the study areas. Two landscape development stages were deduced: (1) 1984–1991 represented high deforestation and gradual increase in shrub land; (2) 1991–2000 and 2000–2010 represented lower deforestation and slower agropastoral expansion. The results further show clear patterns of the dynamics, magnitude, and direction of land use and land cover change by tenure regime. The study concluded that land tenure has a direct impact on land use and land cover, since it may restrict some activities carried out on the land in the Zambezi Region.     

Effect of land use land cover change on soil erosion potential in an agricultural watershed

Universal soil loss equation (USLE) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system to determine the influence of land use and land cover change (LUCC) on soil erosion potential of a reservoir catchment during the period 1989 to 2004. Results showed that the mean soil erosion potential of the watershed was increased slightly from 12.11 t ha^???1 year^???1 in the year 1989 to 13.21 t ha^???1 year^???1 in the year 2004. Spatial analysis revealed that the disappearance of forest patches from relatively flat areas, increased in wasteland in steep slope, and intensification of cultivation practice in relatively more erosion-prone soil were the main factors contributing toward the increased soil erosion potential of the watershed during the study period. Results indicated that transition of other land use land cover (LUC) categories to cropland was the most detrimental to watershed in terms of soil loss while forest acted as the most effective barrier to soil loss. A p value of 0.5503 obtained for two-tailed paired t test between the mean erosion potential of microwatersheds in 1989 and 2004 also indicated towards a moderate change in soil erosion potential of the watershed over the studied period. This study revealed that the spatial location of LUC parcels with respect to terrain and associated soil properties should be an important consideration in soil erosion assessment process.     

Modeling land use/land cover change using remote sensing and geographic information systems: case study of the Seyhan Basin,Turkey

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes affect several natural environmental factors, including soil erosion, hydrological balance, biodiversity, and the climate, which ultimately impact societal well-being. Therefore, LULC changes are an important aspect of land management. One method used to analyze LULC changes is the mathematical modeling approach. In this study, Cellular Automata and Markov Chain (CA-MC) models were used to predict the LULC changes in the Seyhan Basin in Turkey that are likely to occur by 2036. Satellite multispectral imagery acquired in the years 1995, 2006, and 2016 were classified using the object-based classification method and used as the input data for the CA-MC model. Subsequently, the post-classification comparison technique was used to determine the parameters of the model to be simulated. The Markov Chain analyses and the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method were used to produce a transition probability matrix and land suitability maps, respectively. The model was validated using the Kappa index, which reached an overall level of 77%. Finally, the LULC changes were mapped for the year 2036 based on transition rules and a transition area matrix. The LULC prediction for the year 2036 showed a 50% increase in the built-up area class and a 7% decrease in the open spaces class compared to the LULC status of the reference year 2016. About an 8% increase in agricultural land is also likely to occur in 2036. About a 4% increase in shrub land and a 5% decrease in forest areas are also predicted.     

Land use/land cover change and their effects on landscape patterns in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang (China)

Human modification of land use and land cover change (LUCC) drives the change of landscape patterns and limits the availability of products and services for human and livestock. LUCC can undermine environmental health. Thus, this study aimed to develop an understanding of LUCC in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang, China, an arid area experiencing dramatic water and land resource use. A time series of satellite images (1964, 1973, 1989, 1999, and 2009) were used to calculate the index of landscape patterns to study the processes involved in changes to land uses and landscape patterns and the influence of this changes on landscape patterns. The results show that land uses in the Yanqi Basin have changed dramatically since 1964 with grassland being mainly converted to cropland. Landscape fragmentation and diversity have decreased in the study area, although landscape fragmentation increased from 1964 to 1999 and then decreased by 2009. The index of landscape diversity decreased from 1.64 in 1964 to 0.71 in 2009. The heterogeneity and complexity of the landscape increased during this period. In contrast, the index of dominance decreased from 0.85 in 1964 to 0.83 in 2009. Land use change drives landscape patterns of the development of the watershed toward diversity and a fragmented structure. Population growth, economic development, and industrial policies were the dominant driving forces behind LUCC in the Yanqi Basin. Sustainable use of land resources is a significant factor in maintaining economic development and environmental protection in this arid inland river basin.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of land use/land cover change and its effects on soil erosion (Case study in the Oplenac wine-producing area,Serbia)

In this paper, various spatial modelling techniques were applied to analyse changes in soil cover and their impact on soil erosion in the Oplenac wine-producing area in Serbia in the past (1985 and 2013) and in the future (with predictions for 2041). The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Sediment Delivery Ratio (InVEST SDR) model and the Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) model, integrated with methods of remote sensing, were successfully applied and were shown to be valid tools for predicting the impact of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes when estimating soil loss. The results revealed that the greatest impact of land use changes between 1985 and 2013 was on a reduction in areas under vineyards and an extension of meadow and pasturelands as an individual and social response to economic conditions during the research period. The forecast for 2041 reflected the trends observed in the previous period, with the greatest changes witnessing an increase in urban areas and a decrease in areas of arable land. It was also found that the effect of LULC changes on spatio-temporal patterns in the Oplenac wine-producing area did not have a major impact on soil loss, meaning this area, with its good agro-climatic characteristics, is suitable for the intensification of agricultural production.     

Using landsat data to determine land use/land cover changes in Samsun, Turkey

The rapid industrialization and urbanization of an area require quick preparation of actual land use/land cover (LU/LC) maps in order to detect and avoid overuse and damage of the landscape beyond sustainable development limits. Remote sensing technology fits well for long-term monitoring and assessment of such effects. The aim of this study was to analyze LU/LC changes between 1980 and 1999 in Samsun, Turkey, using satellite images. Three Landsat images from 1980, 1987 and 1999 were used to determine changes. A post classification technique was used based on a hybrid classification approach (unsupervised and supervised). Images were classified into six LU/LC types; urban, agriculture, dense forest, open forest-hazelnut, barren land and water area. It is found that significant changes in land cover occurred over the study period. The results showed an increase in urban, open forest/hazelnut, barren land and water area and a decrease in agriculture and dense forest in between 1980 and 1999. In this period, urban land increased from 0.77% to 2.47% of the total area, primarily due to conversions from agricultural land and forest to a lesser degree. While the area of dense forest decreased from 41.09% to 29.64% of the total area, the area of open forest and hazelnut increased from 6.73% to 11.88%.     

Impact of land use and land cover changes on ecosystem services in Menglun, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Changing the landscape has serious environmental impacts affecting the ecosystem services, particularly in the tropics. In this paper, we report changes in ecosystem services in relation to land use and land cover over an 18-year period (1988--2006) in the Menglun Township, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. We used Landsat TM/ETM and Quickbird data sets to estimate changes in ten land use and land cover categories, and generalized value coefficients to estimate changes in the ecosystem services provided by each land category. The results showed that over the 18-year period, the land use and land cover in the study area experienced significant changes. Rubber plantations increased from 12.10% of total land cover to 45.63%, while forested area and swidden field decreased from 48.73 and 13.14 to 27.57 and 0.46%, respectively. During this period, the estimated value of ecosystem services dropped by US $11.427 million (approximately 27.73%). Further analysis showed that there were significant changes in ecological functions such as nutrient cycling, erosion control, climate regulation and water treatment as well as recreation; the obvious increase in the ecological function is provision of raw material (natural rubber). Our findings conclude that an abrupt shift in land use from ecologically important tropical forests and traditionally managed swidden fields to large-scale rubber plantations result in a great loss of ecosystem services in this area. Further, the study suggests that provision of alternative economic opportunities would help in maintaining ecosystem services and for an appropriate compensation mechanisms need to be established based on rigorous valuation.     

Assessing implications of land use and land cover changes in forest ecosystems of NE Turkey

Monitoring land use and land cover change (LUCC) and understanding forest cover dynamics is extremely important in sustainable development and management of forest ecosystems. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal pattern of LUCC in the Yaln?zçam and U?urlu forest planning units which are located in the northeast corner of Turkey. The investigation also evaluates the temporal changes of the spatial structure of forest conditions through the spatial analysis of forest-cover type maps from 1972 and 2005 using geographical information systems and FRAGSTATS^TM. As an overall change between 1972 and 2005, there was a net increase of 1,823 ha in forested areas, and cumulative forest improvement accounted for 2.06 %. In terms of spatial configuration, the landscape structure in the study area changed substantially over the 33-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by large patch numbers and smaller mean patch sizes, owing to heavy grazing, illegal cutting, and uncontrolled stand treatments.     

Monitoring land use/land cover changes using CORINE land cover data: a case study of Silivri coastal zone in Metropolitan Istanbul

The objective of the present study was to assess changes in land use/land cover patterns in the coastal town of Silivri, a part of greater Istanbul administratively. In the assessment, remotely sensed data, in the form of satellite images, and geographic information systems were used. Types of land use/land cover were designated as the percentage of the total area studied. Results calculated from the satellite data for land cover classification were compared successfully with the database Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE). This served as a reference to appraise the reliability of the study presented here. The CORINE Program was established by the European Commission to create a harmonized Geographical Information System on the state of the environment in the European Community. Unplanned urbanization is causing land use changes mainly in developing countries such as Turkey. This situation in Turkey is frequently observed in the city of Istanbul. There are only a few studies of land use–land cover changes which provide an integrated assessment of the biophysical and societal causes and consequences of environmental degradation in Istanbul. The research area comprised greater Silivri Town which is situated by the coast of Marmara Sea, and it is located approximately 60 km west of Istanbul. The city of Istanbul is one of the largest metropolises in Europe with ca. 15 million inhabitants. Additionally, greater Silivri is located near the terminal point of the state highway connecting Istanbul with Europe. Measuring of changes occurring in land use would help control future planning of settlements; hence, it is of importance for the Gretaer Silivri and Silivri Town. Following our evaluations, coastal zone of Silivri was classified into the land use groups of artificial surfaces agricultural areas and forests and seminatural areas with 47.1%, 12.66%, and 22.62%, respectively.     

GIS based mapping of land cover changes utilizing multi-temporal remotely sensed image data in Lake Hawassa Watershed,Ethiopia

Classifying multi-temporal image data to produce thematic maps and quantify land cover changes is one of the most common applications of remote sensing. Mapping land cover changes at the regional level is essential for a wide range of applications including land use planning, decision making, land cover database generation, and as a source of information for sustainable management of natural resources. Land cover changes in Lake Hawassa Watershed, Southern Ethiopia, were investigated using Landsat MSS image data of 1973, and Landsat TM images of 1985, 1995, and 2011, covering a period of nearly four decades. Each image was partitioned in a GIS environment, and classified using an unsupervised algorithm followed by a supervised classification method. A hybrid approach was employed in order to reduce spectral confusion due to high variability of land cover. Classification of satellite image data was performed integrating field data, aerial photographs, topographical maps, medium resolution satellite image (SPOT 20 m), and visual image interpretation. The image data were classified into nine land cover types: water, built-up, cropland, woody vegetation, forest, grassland, swamp, bare land, and scrub. The overall accuracy of the LULC maps ranged from 82.5 to 85.0 %. The achieved accuracies were reasonable, and the observed classification errors were attributable to coarse spatial resolution and pixels containing a mixture of cover types. Land cover change statistics were extracted and tabulated using the ERDAS Imagine software. The results indicated an increase in built-up area, cropland, and bare land areas, and a reduction in the six other land cover classes. Predominant land cover is cropland changing from 43.6 % in 1973 to 56.4 % in 2011. A significant portion of land cover was converted into cropland. Woody vegetation and forest cover which occupied 21.0 and 10.3 % in 1973, respectively, diminished to 13.6 and 5.6 % in 2011. The change in water body was very peculiar in that the area of Lake Hawassa increased from 91.9 km² in 1973 to 95.2 km² in 2011, while that of Lake Cheleleka whose area was 11.3 km² in 1973 totally vanished in 2011 and transformed into mud-flat and grass dominated swamp. The “change and no change” analysis revealed that more than one third (548.0 km²) of the total area was exposed to change between 1973 and 2011. This study was useful in identifying the major land cover changes, and the analysis pursued provided a valuable insight into the ongoing changes in the area under investigation.     

Dynamics of land change: insights from a three-level intensity analysis of the Legedadie-Dire catchments,Ethiopia

Earlier studies on land change (LC) have focused on size and magnitude, gains and losses, or land transfers between categories. Therefore, these studies have failed to simultaneously show the complete LC processes. This paper examines LCs in the Legedadie-Dire catchments in Oromia State, Ethiopia, using land-category maps with intensity analysis (IA) at three points in time. We comprehensively analyze LC to jointly encompass the rate, intensity, transition, and process. Thirty-meter US Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat imagery from 1986, 2000, and 2015 (<?10% cloud) is processed using TerrSet-LCM and ArcGIS. Six categories are identified using a maximum likelihood classification technique: settlement, cultivation, forest, water, grassland, and bare land. Then, classified maps are superimposed on the images to statistically examine changes with an IA. Considerable changes are observed among categories, except for water, between 1986–2000 and 2000–2015. Overall land change occurred quickly at first and then slowly in the second time interval. The total land area that exhibited change (1st?≈?54% and 2nd?≈?51%) exceeded the total area of persistence (1st?≈?46% and 2nd?≈?49%) across the landscape. Cultivation and human settlements were the most intensively increased categories, at the expense of grassland and bare ground. Hence, when grassland was lost, it tended to be displaced by cultivation more than other categories, which was also true with bare land. Annual intensity gains were active for forest but minimal for cultivation, implying that the gains of forest were associated with in situ reforestation practices and that the gains in cultivation were caused by its relatively large initial area under a uniform intensity concept. This study demonstrates that IA is valuable for investigating LC across time intervals and can help distinguish dormant vs. active and targeted vs. avoided land categories.     

Landscape-based upstream-downstream prevalence of land-use/cover change drivers in southeastern rift escarpment of Ethiopia

Characterized by high population density on a rugged topography, the Gedeo-Abaya landscape dominantly contains a multi-strata traditional agroforests showing the insight of Gedeo farmers on natural resource management practices. Currently, this area has been losing its resilience and is becoming unable to sustain its inhabitants. Based on both RS-derived and GIS-computed land-use/cover changes (LUCC) as well as socioeconomic validations, this article explored the LUCC and agroecological-based driver patterns in Gedeo-Abaya landscape from 1986 to 2015. A combination of geo-spatial technology and cross-sectional survey design were employed to detect the drivers behind these changes. The article discussed that LUCC and the prevalence of drivers are highly diverse and vary throughout agroecological zones. Except for the population, most downstream top drivers are perceived as insignificant in the upstream region and vice versa. In the downstream, land-use/cover (LUC) classes are more dynamic, diverse, and challenged by nearly all anticipated drivers than are upstream ones. Agroforestry LUC has been increasing (by 25% of its initial cover) and is becoming the predominant cover type, although socioeconomic analysis and related findings show its rapid LUC modification. A rapid reduction of woodland/shrubland (63%) occurred in the downstream, while wetland/marshy land increased threefold (158%), from 1986 to 2015 with annual change rates of -?3.7 and +?6%, respectively. Land degradation induced by changes in land use is a serious problem in Africa, especially in the densely populated sub-Saharan regions such as Ethiopia (FAO 2015). Throughout the landscape, LUCC is prominently affecting land-use system of the study landscape due to population pressure in the upstream region and drought/rainfall variability, agribusiness investment, and charcoaling in the downstream that necessitate urgent action.     

Assessment of some remote sensing techniques used to detect land use/land cover changes in South-East Transilvania,Romania

This paper assesses the image differencing technique for the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the second principal component (PC2), and the TM 4 band (TM 4), as well as the post-classification comparison (PCC) in order to analyze the land use/land cover changes in the South-East Transilvania, Romania. The analysis was performed using two frames from Landsat 5 TM satellite images acquired on August 5, 1993 and July 24, 2009. After applying the NDVI, PC2, and TM 4 image differencing techniques, the images obtained were transformed into change/no change maps. The thresholds identified to highlight the changes were set at 0.6 s for NDVI and 0.7 s for PC2 and TM 4. Before applying the PCC technique, the satellite images were classified through the supervised classification method. The overall accuracy obtained was 85.91 % and the kappa statistics 0.8249 for 1993, 88.18 % and 0.8497 for 2009, respectively. The assessment of the changes detection methods in the studied area shows that the first place is occupied by NDVI image differencing with an overall accuracy of 83.80 %, followed by PCC method with 83.20 %, PC2 difference with an overall accuracy of 81.60 %, and TM 4 difference with an overall accuracy of 79.40 %.     

Vegetation dynamics during different abandoned year spans in the land of the Loess Plateau of China

In this semi-arid area, many studies focused on the two-phase vegetation pattern were carried out to explore a changing vegetation trajectory on degraded land. However, this study conducted an analysis of a two-phase vegetation pattern and explored the successional vegetation trajectories in a positive succession without disturbance. In this work, 60 randomly distributed plots (1?×?1 m) were invested on four abandoned land areas (4-, 12-, 22-, and 50-year abandoned land) to determine attributes of vegetation, and soil physical and nutritional properties. It was found that vegetation distribution development went from homogeneous on 4-year abandoned land to heterogeneous on 50-year abandoned land, with a positive succession. Meanwhile, there was a significant difference in soil physical and nutritional properties for the inside and outside of vegetation patches. Vegetation patches can supply better soil physical and nutritional properties for vegetation than bare patches along the abandoned time. Vegetation diversity changes without a regular trend which may be due to the effect of environment and interspecies competition. This work picked up the slack for vegetation patterns succession research and provided a quantitative analysis approach.     

Assessing post-industrial land cover change at the Pine Point Mine,NWT, Canada using multi-temporal Landsat analysis and landscape metrics

This study investigates land cover change near the abandoned Pine Point Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Industrial mineral development transforms local environments, and the effects of such disturbances are often long-lasting, particularly in subarctic, boreal environments where vegetation conversion can take decades. Located in the Boreal Plains Ecozone, the Pine Point Mine was an extensive open pit operation that underwent little reclamation when it shut down in 1988. We apply remote sensing and landscape ecology methods to quantify land cover change in the 20 years following the mine’s closure. Using a time series of near-anniversary Landsat images, we performed a supervised classification to differentiate seven land cover classes. We used raster algebra and landscape metrics to track changes in land cover composition and configuration in the 20 years since the mine shut down. We compared our results with a site in Wood Buffalo National Park that was never subjected to extensive anthropogenic disturbance. This space-for-time substitution provided an analog for how the ecosystem in the Pine Point region might have developed in the absence of industrial mineral development. We found that the dense conifer class was dominant in the park and exhibited larger and more contiguous patches than at the mine site. Bare land at the mine site showed little conversion through time. While the combination of raster algebra and landscape metrics allowed us to track broad changes in land cover composition and configuration, improved access to affordable, high-resolution imagery is necessary to effectively monitor land cover dynamics at abandoned mines.     

Land use and land cover (LULC) of the Republic of the Maldives: first national map and LULC change analysis using remote-sensing data

The Maldives islands in recent decades have experienced dramatic land-use change. Uninhabited islands were turned into new resort islands; evergreen tropical forests were cut, to be replaced by fields and new built-up areas. All these changes happened without a proper monitoring and urban planning strategy from the Maldivian government due to the lack of national land-use and land-cover (LULC) data. This study aimed to realize the first land-use map of the entire Maldives archipelago and to detect land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) using high-resolution satellite images and socioeconomic data. Due to the peculiar geographic and environmental features of the archipelago, the land-use map was obtained by visual interpretation and manual digitization of land-use patches. The images used, dated 2011, were obtained from Digital Globe’s WorldView 1 and WorldView 2 satellites. Nine land-use classes and 18 subclasses were identified and mapped. During a field survey, ground control points were collected to test the geographic and thematic accuracy of the land-use map. The final product’s overall accuracy was 85%. Once the accuracy of the map had been checked, LULCC maps were created using images from the early 2000s derived from Google Earth historical imagery. Post-classification comparison of the classified maps showed that growth of built-up and agricultural areas resulted in decreases in forest land and shrubland. The LULCC maps also revealed an increase in land reclamation inside lagoons near inhabited islands, resulting in environmental impacts on fragile reef habitat. The LULC map of the Republic of the Maldives produced in this study can be used by government authorities to make sustainable land-use planning decisions and to provide better management of land use and land cover.