Land Use Land Cover Change within Kakum Conservation Area in the Assin South District of Ghana, 1991-2015

Kakum Conservation Area is roughly 1187km2, extending over large portions of forest reserves in the Assin South District of Ghana. The district hosts the remaining biodiversity hotspots within highly fragmented rainforest of West Africa. Although the conservation has been gazetted as protected area, it has since been impacted by illegal chainsaw logging, expanding agricultural land use and built construction to meet the housing needs of the rapidly growing population of the district. However, there is paucity of data on the magnitude, rate and types of land cover change occurring in the district. This study seeks to address these by examining the magnitude, the rate and direction of change in land cover between 1991 and 2015. The study objective was achieved using supervised classification and post classification change detection of remotely sensed Landsat satellite imagery of the district taken in 1991, 2001 and 2015. The results show that, within the study period, the population of the area increased by 2.9%, thick forest decreased by 8.2km2, light forest increased by 5.3km2 and built environment increased by 2.9km2 per annum. These results are considered potential hindrance to sustainable development, including biodiversity conservation in the forest reserves and climate change mitigation in general. There is therefore need for measures to end deforestation and stimulate reforestation of the lost forest cover. The district needs to initiate an enquiry into the effectiveness of the current forest reserve management practices and sustainability of land use systems in the district

Abundance and Diversity of Trees Species Under Different Land Uses in the Sudan Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana, West Africa

Knowledge on tree species abundance and diversity is critical for sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation. The aim of the study was to assess tree species abundance and diversity across different land uses and sites in the Sudan savannah ecological zone of Ghana, a total of 64 plots of 3600 m2 (60 m x 60 m) were laid out in three land use types (Forest reserve, cropland and rangeland) in four sites (Bawku, Binduri, Garu and Pusiga). All standing trees and shrubs species encountered in the setting plot were recorded including dendrometry parameters. Alpha diversity was measured using Simpson, Shannon-Wiener and Evenness indices whereas similarity in species composition between land use types and sites were measured using Sorenson’s index. The results showed that there were more species in the lower diameter classes (0 to 20 cm) than the higher diameter classes (>20 cm). the greatest value of tree diversity was recorded in forest land in the four sites compared to the other land use types. The highest similarity (53%) in tree species composition was recorded between cropland in Binduri and Garu. the current study revealed that forest land recorded the highest value of tree species richness in each site compared to the other two land use types (cropland and rangeland) in the same site

The Evil of sluits : a re-assessment of soil erosion in the Karoo of South Africa as portrayed in century-old sources

Deep, linear gullies are a common feature of the present landscape of the Karoo of South Africa, where they were known locally in the early twentieth century as ‘sluits’. Recent research has shown that many of these features are now stable and are no longer significant sediment sources, although they are efficient connectors in the landscape. Because most of the gully networks predate the first aerial photographs, little is known in the scientific literature about the timing of their formation. One secondary source, however, throws interesting light on the origin of these features, and the early response by landowners to their rehabilitation. The Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope at the turn of the Twentieth Century carried a number of articles by farmers and agricultural officers concerning the "evil of sluits". The authors gave accounts of widespread incision of valley bottoms by deep, wide gullies. Many of these gullies had been in existence for some thirty years but apparently had formed within living memory. A number of attempts to prevent further erosion had been put in place at the time of writing. This paper presents a review of land degradation, specifically gully erosion, and rehabilitation recommendations as given by authors writing in this journal. It reflects on the findings in the context of assessing land degradation processes through the local knowledge portrayed in the journal

Detecting coastal urbanization and land use change in Southern Turkey

One of the most important needs in contemporary landscape planning is quantitative land use/land cover (LU/LC) change information. The reason a strong emphasis is placed on landscape change information is that it serves as an ecological and geographical basis for preparing and implementing development plans in a more sustainable manner. Multi-temporal analysis of LU/LC changes on the Eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey revealed that there is a marked preference for these areas primarily for building development. This paper demonstrates a methodology that relies on quantitative analysis techniques for assessing spatiotemporal changes in LU/LC in the case of the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. In this respect, satellite image datasets (SPOT panchromatic, Landsat TM) acquired in 1989, 1995, 2001 and 2007 were enhanced. Resulting images were classified and compared to detect coastal urbanization and development trends.  Post-classification change analyses were employed to quantify land cover conversions in three periods from 1985 to 1995, from 1995 to 2001 and from 2001 to 2007. This paper demonstrated that urban, agriculture and shrublands changed rapidly in this part of the Mediterranean coast

Estimating leaf area index and aboveground biomass of grazing pastures using Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Landsat images

Grassland degradation has accelerated in recent decades in response to increased climate variability and human activity. Rangeland and grassland conditions directly affect forage quality, livestock production, and regional grassland resources. In this study, we examined the potential of integrating synthetic aperture radar (SAR, Sentinel-1) and optical remote sensing (Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2) data to monitor the conditions of a native pasture and an introduced pasture in Oklahoma, USA. Leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground biomass (AGB) were used as indicators of pasture conditions under varying climate and human activities. We estimated the seasonal dynamics of LAI and AGB using Sentinel-1 (S1), Landsat-8 (LC8), and Sentinel-2 (S2) data, both individually and integrally, applying three widely used algorithms: Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Random Forest (RF). Results indicated that integration of LC8 and S2 data provided sufficient data to capture the seasonal dynamics of grasslands at a 10–30-m spatial resolution and improved assessments of critical phenology stages in both pluvial and dry years. The satellite-based LAI and AGB models developed from ground measurements in 2015 reasonably predicted the seasonal dynamics and spatial heterogeneity of LAI and AGB in 2016. By comparison, the integration of S1, LC8, and S2 has the potential to improve the estimation of LAI and AGB more than 30% relative to the performance of S1 at low vegetation cover (LAI \u3c 2m2/m2, AGB \u3c 500 g/m2) and optical data of LC8 and S2 at high vegetation cover (LAI \u3e 2m2/m2, AGB \u3e 500 g/m2). These results demonstrate the potential of combining S1, LC8, and S2 monitoring grazing tallgrass prairie to provide timely and accurate data for grassland management

Perceived Effects of Bush Burning on Agriculture and Wildlife Resources in Ghana

Peace Corps was started in the 1960s by President John F. Kennedy. Ghana was one of the first established host countries that received Peace Corps Volunteers. There are five different sectors that volunteers can work in education, health, agriculture, environment, or community and economic development. Peace Corps service begins with ten weeks of pre-service training before volunteers swear in and are placed in communities throughout the country. Training covers topics such as global Peace Corps policy, health and security concerns, local language, and technical skills. I was placed in a small, rural community in the Northern Region of Ghana. My projects focused on food security, such as growing orange flesh sweet potatoes and building a community garden. Peace Corps service came with many challenges, but the relationships I built with my community and my cohort were invaluable. As part of my service and my graduate studies, I interviewed farmers in northern Ghana about their perceptions of the effect of bush burning on agriculture and wildlife in the area. Fires are a key aspect of savanna ecology, but current anthropogenic uses of bush burning are causing soil degradation and a decrease in food security in northern Ghana. We interviewed 87 farmers on their bush burning behavior to determine if demographic factors influenced the reasoning behind farmers bush burning practices. Interviews took place in ten communities across the Northern Region using Barrier Analysis Surveys. Results were both quantitative and qualitative. Data analysis was conducted using logistic regression modeling. The number of participants categorized as burners or non-burners were modeled using demographic information and participants’ perceptions of the effects of bush burning. Models were selected based on △AICc and weight. We were able to determine some of the motivations people had to practice or not practice bush burning. Motivations to avoid bush burning included the perceived severity of its effects on agriculture and wildlife, the perceived lack of effectiveness, perceived negative consequences, and access to tools and materials. Motivations to use bush burning included perceived effectiveness and perceived positive consequences. We were also able to determine participants’ perceptions of the effects of bush burning on their farms and for wildlife. Participants noted a variety of negative consequences such as impacts to crop yield, income, soil fertility, and erosion as well as some positive consequences such as benefits to seed germination and ease of use to clear land for farming. Participants also provided some strategies to discourage the use of bush burning. Providing better access to conservation agriculture education and punishing those caught bush burning could discourage people from and therefore potentially increase their household’s income and food security

Cost and benefit analysis for climate-smart agricultural (csa) practices in the coastal savannah agro-ecological zone (aez) of Ghana

Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Ghana, rely on agriculture for their income and food security. Any initiative that might help to sustain and improve productivity in agriculture would be a crucial step in improving people’s livelihoods. The adoption of climate-smart practices is a key step in reducing the threat to the sustainability of agricultural production in Ghana. Yet, despite the concern about the threat caused by climate variability and change, little empirical analysis has been carried out to date on how best to tackle it. However, recently many of the development and government programs are being designed in such a way that if adopted, can tackle the problems associated with climate variability and change. The majority of rural farmers have now adopted these practices. However, the cost effectiveness of adopting these practices – a key ingredient to the policy-making processes – is challenging. The results presented in this report attempt to bridge the knowledge gap between the cost and effectiveness, using ex-ante cost-benefit analysis to assess the cost effectiveness of some of the proposed climate-smart agricultural practices. This study examines the private and social benefits and the costs of selected climate-smart agricultural practices as a step towards understanding their private and potential social benefits and costs and their implication in terms of deterring their adoption from the farmers’ viewpoint and any potential social benefits, if adopted

Modelling past and future land use changes and potential conflicts from mining, agriculture, and industry in the rapidly developing region of Kuantan, Malaysia

Kuantan is emerging as a dynamically developing region supported by the megaeconomic development projects such as the East Coast Economic Development Plan in conjunction with the extension of China-Malaysia bilateral industrial parks and establishment of East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a part of the great Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Such a rapidly developing region requires a robust spatial analysis to understand the changing landscape pattern and its socio-environmental impacts to guide sustainable development. Addressing the lack of research focused on this key economic development region, this study aims to characterise and evaluate the historic and future projection of land use land cover (LULC) change patterns to understand the dynamics of the regional development process and to identify potential future land use conflicts. The methodology for this research includes construction of coarse-scale land cover classes by using Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI data based on a combination of Random Forest classifier on Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and manual refinement to construct fine-scale LULC maps by using auxiliary reference data. The produced timeseries imageries’ overall accuracy assessment scored at an average of 83%. Subsequently, to further assess and model the future LULC change pattern, the Land Change Modeler (LCM) in TerrSet was utilized by training the multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network and using the Markov chain analysis. The study shows that the region’s land cover will be largely altered by human intervention driven by urbanisation and the region’s evolving economic vision. Overall, the LULC timeseries for the years 2010 to 2020 revealed a prominent increase in oil palm plantation, followed by mining, residential, and industrial site expansion, with a consequent decline in forest and disturbed vegetation cover. The future land use projection for the year 2030 also revealed similar land use development patterns. Both the historical remote sensing data and future projections showed that industry, mining, and residential are clustered and growing in close proximity while expanding extensively, which may likely be a cause of future land use conflict. Although modelled future projections may contain many uncertainties, having the ability to envision future possible scenarios provide key insights into the current and evolving future patterns of land use changes and predicting their impacts on people and the environment. This will assist government bodies, stakeholders, and policy makers by providing information essential for future planning and sustainable development decisions

Modelling past and future land use changes and potential conflicts from mining, agriculture, and industry in the rapidly developing region of Kuantan, Malaysia

Kuantan is emerging as a dynamically developing region supported by the megaeconomic development projects such as the East Coast Economic Development Plan in conjunction with the extension of China-Malaysia bilateral industrial parks and establishment of East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), a part of the great Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Such a rapidly developing region requires a robust spatial analysis to understand the changing landscape pattern and its socio-environmental impacts to guide sustainable development. Addressing the lack of research focused on this key economic development region, this study aims to characterise and evaluate the historic and future projection of land use land cover (LULC) change patterns to understand the dynamics of the regional development process and to identify potential future land use conflicts. The methodology for this research includes construction of coarse-scale land cover classes by using Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI data based on a combination of Random Forest classifier on Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and manual refinement to construct fine-scale LULC maps by using auxiliary reference data. The produced timeseries imageries’ overall accuracy assessment scored at an average of 83%. Subsequently, to further assess and model the future LULC change pattern, the Land Change Modeler (LCM) in TerrSet was utilized by training the multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network and using the Markov chain analysis. The study shows that the region’s land cover will be largely altered by human intervention driven by urbanisation and the region’s evolving economic vision. Overall, the LULC timeseries for the years 2010 to 2020 revealed a prominent increase in oil palm plantation, followed by mining, residential, and industrial site expansion, with a consequent decline in forest and disturbed vegetation cover. The future land use projection for the year 2030 also revealed similar land use development patterns. Both the historical remote sensing data and future projections showed that industry, mining, and residential are clustered and growing in close proximity while expanding extensively, which may likely be a cause of future land use conflict. Although modelled future projections may contain many uncertainties, having the ability to envision future possible scenarios provide key insights into the current and evolving future patterns of land use changes and predicting their impacts on people and the environment. This will assist government bodies, stakeholders, and policy makers by providing information essential for future planning and sustainable development decisions