Fasona M

Omojola A

Onyeahialam A

This research quantifies forest resources and describes its spatial pattern, configuration and arrangement in parts of the southwest coast of Nigeria. Band 1 and 7 of Landsat TM were fused with band 2 of NigeriaSat-1 to generate a hybrid image. Unsupervised image classes were vectorized and allocated into information classes. From the results, human interference is on the increase, with about 25% of the land under cultivation, about 800 km 2 (40%) of forest is still standing, and 7% accounted for by forest degradation. Landscape pattern indices suggest the area presently consists of several variable, irregular, jointed, but rich patches. The level of disturbance has not significantly affected the connectivity and feedback functions of the ecosystems. Considering the anticipated increase in demand for agricultural land in the near future, designating the area an ecological reserve for eco-tourism is suggested as probably the only way to protect the remaining forest stands. Copyright \ua9 2007 IAHS Press

Mapping land degradation and forest resource loss from fused Landsat TM and Nigeriasat-1 images in some parts of the southwest coast of Nigeria

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