Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Forest Cover Change by Using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques; a Case of Geba Watershed, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Forest cover change was the serious environmental problem in the world. The forest cover around Geba watershed was declined substantial. The declining of this forest cover in the study area does not get research attention. This study analyze the Spatio-temporal forest cover change of the study area over the period 1990 to 2020 using Landsat image TM of 1990, ETM+ of 2003 and OLI/TIRS of 2020. The land use/land cover change (LULCC) detection results reveals that agricultural land is highly increase from 1786.6km² (37.2%) in 1990 to 3163.2km² (65.8%) 2020. Whereas; dense forest was dramatically decreased 2129.2km²(44.3%) in 1990 to 1127.8km² (23.5%) in 2020. Agricultural land was increased by the rate of 45.9km2/year while dense forest was decreased by the rate of 33.4km2/year. Our finding reveals that dense forest and open forest are decreased over the study period whereas; agricultural land and settlement are increased from 1990 to 2020. The declining trend of forest cover change is associated with agricultural expansion in the periphery of the forest. Timber and charcoal production, and firewood harvesting for energy consumptions are the major driving factors for declining of forest in the study area. Generally, our results recommend the importance of participatory forest management and community awareness creation to sustain Geba watershed.

Keywords: Spatio-temporal, forest cover change; Land use/Land cover change, Land use/Land cover

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-10-03

Publication date:October 31^st 2022