scholarly journals Spatial-temporal Changes in Land Use Land Cover and its Impacts on Wildlife Conservation in Meru Conservation Area, Kenya

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kiria Edwin ◽  
Magana Adiel ◽  
Njue Cyprian
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
The Impact

Habitat conversion can be a major threat to biodiversity. Recent and current levels of human activities on landscapes appear to be overriding the natural changes to ecosystems brought about by climate variations in the past millennia. The impact of anthropogenic activities on wildlife habitat and species vary depending on the spatial and temporal scales considered and the persistence of the activities in the landscape. This study was carried out in Meru Conservation Area (MCA) to examine land use and land cover changes (LULC) that have taken place within and around the Protected Area (PA) from 1985 with an emphasis of anthropogenic activities which have altered wildlife habitat and species. The distribution of land use types within and around MCA has produced land use patterns which this study seeks to establish the extent and effects in relation to wildlife conservation. To establish the LULC, Landsat satellite images of medium resolution were acquired and interpretation done using ArchGIS. Four satellite images with a span of three decades from 1985 to 2015 were acquired for analysis. The results revealed significant changes in MCA ecosystem over the study period, accounting for 9.9% and 6.1% increase in grassland and bareland respectively. This means that agricultural activities are encroaching towards the protected areas in the land that was formerly used as wildlife corridors and dispersal areas. It is also an indication that there is a significant change in the forestland and shrubland which has reduced by 2.3% and 15.7% respectively resulting to bareland and grassland. The results of the study provide an insight on the threat to the future survival of wildlife in their ecosystems due to declining ecosystems productivity as well as socioeconomic livelihood of communities living around the MCA. The results of this study therefore call for an integrated planning approach towards management of protected areas in order to meet wildlife and human needs in view of the changing climate regimes.

scholarly journals Impacts of Urbanization on Land Use Pattern and Environment: A Case Study of Ajmer City, Rajasthan

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Bhanu Priya Chouhan ◽  
Monika Kannan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
The Impact

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. More than half of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion. ‘Urbanization has the potential to usher in a new era of wellbeing, resource efficiency and economic growth. But due to increased population the pressure of demand also increases in urban areas’ (Drakakis-Smith, David, 1996). The loss of agricultural land to other land uses occasioned by urban growth is an issue of growing concern worldwide, particularly in the developing countries like India. This paper is an attempt to assess the impact of urbanization on land use and land cover patterns in Ajmer city. Recent trends indicate that the rural urban migration and religious significance of the place attracting thousands of tourists every year, have immensely contributed in the increasing population of city and is causing change in land use patterns. This accelerating urban sprawl has led to shrinking of the agricultural land and land holdings. Due to increased rate of urbanization, the agricultural areas have been transformed into residential and industrial areas (Retnaraj D,1994). There are several key factors which cause increase in population here such as Smart City Projects, potential for employment, higher education, more comfortable and quality housing, better health facilities, high living standard etc. Population pressure not only directly increases the demand for food, but also indirectly reduces its supply through building development, environmental degradation and marginalization of food production (Aldington T, 1997). Also, there are several issues which are associated with continuous increase in population i.e. land degradation, pollution, poverty, slums, unaffordable housing etc. Pollution, formulation of slums, transportation congestion, environmental hazards, land degradation and crime are some of the major impacts of urbanization on Ajmer city. This study involves mapping of land use patterns by analyzing data and satellite imagery taken at different time periods. The satellite images of year 2000 and 2017 are used. The change detection techniques are used with the help of Geographical Information System software like ERDAS and ArcGIS. The supervised classification of all the three satellite images is done by ERDAS software to demarcate and analyze land use change.

Paddlefish Management, Propagation, and Conservation in the 21st Century

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Fish Passage ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Habitat Alterations ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Anthropogenic Habitat ◽  
The Impact

<em>Abstract</em>.—Paddlefish <em>Polyodon spathula </em>are large, riverine fishes that occupy extensive home ranges and often migrate long distances in spring to spawn. As a result of these life history characteristics, paddlefish require many habitats to sustain their population over time. Largely as a result of anthropogenic activities, many of the habitats historically used by paddlefish have been altered or destroyed and remaining paddlefish habitats are being threatened by dam construction, channelization and dredging, and altered land use within watersheds. Understanding how habitat alteration may affect paddlefish populations, and identifying threats to current paddlefish habitat, is needed for the management of this species. We review the threats to paddlefish habitats and assess how anthropogenic habitat alterations, such as changes to natural hydrology through the construction of dams and channelization of large rivers or altered land-use patterns leading to increased sedimentation, have affected paddlefish populations. Recent river restoration and conservation measures that help protect and restore paddlefish habitats include fish passage structures and controlled water releases from dams to simulate a more natural hydrograph. New threats such as global climate change may alter paddlefish habitats in the future. Continued efforts to minimize the impact of anthropogenic changes to paddlefish habitats, and measures to restore natural riverine conditions, may help conserve vital habitats for paddlefish populations.

scholarly journals What Is Threatening Forests in Protected Areas? A Global Assessment of Deforestation in Protected Areas, 2001–2018

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Wade ◽  
Kemen G. Austin ◽  
James Cajka ◽  
Daniel Lapidus ◽  
Kibri H. Everett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
The Impact

The protection of forests is crucial to providing important ecosystem services, such as supplying clean air and water, safeguarding critical habitats for biodiversity, and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this importance, global forest loss has steadily increased in recent decades. Protected Areas (PAs) currently account for almost 15% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and protect 5% of global tree cover and were developed as a principal approach to limit the impact of anthropogenic activities on natural, intact ecosystems and habitats. We assess global trends in forest loss inside and outside of PAs, and land cover following this forest loss, using a global map of tree cover loss and global maps of land cover. While forests in PAs experience loss at lower rates than non-protected forests, we find that the temporal trend of forest loss in PAs is markedly similar to that of all forest loss globally. We find that forest loss in PAs is most commonly—and increasingly—followed by shrubland, a broad category that could represent re-growing forest, agricultural fallows, or pasture lands in some regional contexts. Anthropogenic forest loss for agriculture is common in some regions, particularly in the global tropics, while wildfires, pests, and storm blowdown are a significant and consistent cause of forest loss in more northern latitudes, such as the United States, Canada, and Russia. Our study describes a process for screening tree cover loss and agriculture expansion taking place within PAs, and identification of priority targets for further site-specific assessments of threats to PAs. We illustrate an approach for more detailed assessment of forest loss in four case study PAs in Brazil, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Changes in Wildlife Habitat Quality in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza K. Kija ◽  
Joseph O. Ogutu ◽  
Lazaro J. Mangewa ◽  
John Bukombe ◽  
Francesca Verones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Buffer Area ◽  
Serengeti Ecosystem ◽  
Invest Model ◽  
Over Time

Understanding habitat quality and its dynamics is imperative for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. We mapped and evaluated changes in habitat quality (1975–2015) in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem of northern Tanzania using the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. This is the first habitat quality assessment of its kind for this ecosystem. We characterized changes in habitat quality in the ecosystem and in a 30 kilometer buffer area. Four habitat quality classes (poor, low, medium and high) were identified and their coverage quantified. Overall (1975–2015), habitat quality declined over time but at rates that were higher for habitats with lower protection level or lower initial quality. As a result, habitat quality deteriorated the most in the unprotected and human-dominated buffer area surrounding the ecosystem, at intermediate rates in the less heavily protected Wildlife Management Areas, Game Controlled Areas, Game Reserves and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the least in the most heavily protected Serengeti National Park. The deterioration in habitat quality over time was attributed primarily to anthropogenic activities and major land use policy changes. Effective implementation of land use plans, robust and far-sighted institutional arrangements, adaptive legal and policy instruments are essential to sustaining high habitat quality in contexts of rapid human population growth.

scholarly journals Land Use Land Cover Analysis using Geospatial Techniques

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2561-2566
Author(s):  
Babita Singh
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Landscape Configuration ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Open Forest

Abstract: Remote sensing and Geographic information system (GIS) techniques can be used for the changing pattern of landscape. The study was conducted in Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal Districts of Uttarakhand State, India. In order to understand dynamics of landscape and to examine changes in the land use/cover due to anthropogenic activities, two satellite images (Landsat 5 and Landsat 8) for 1998 and 2020 were used. Google Earth Engine was used to perform supervised classification. Spectral indices (NDVI, MNDWI, SAVI, NDBI) were calculated in order to identify land cover classes. Both 1998 and 2020 satellite images were classified broadly into six classes namely agriculture, built-up, dense forest, open forest, scrub and waterbody. Using high resolution google earth satellite images and visual interpretation, overall accuracy assessment was performed. For land cover/use change analysis, these images were imported to GIS platform. Landscape configuration was observed by calculating various landscape metrices Images. It was observed that scrub land area had increased from 11 % to 14 % but a decrease in agriculture by 4.65 %. The increased value of NP, PD, PLAND, LPI and decrease in AI landscape indices shows that land fragmentation had increased since 1998. The most fragmented classes were scrub (PD - 3.32 to 5.18) and open forest (PD - 3.57 to 5.07). Decrease in AI for open forest, agriculture, built-up indicated that more fragmented patches of these classes were present. The result confirmed increase in the fragmentation of landscape from 1998 onwards. Keywords: GIS, LULC, landscape metrics, Remote Sensing

Analysis of Land Use Land Cover in Annapurna Conservation Area in Gandaki Province, Nepal using Vegetation Index and Land Use Land Cover Datasets

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Shiva Pokhrel ◽  
Chungla Sherpa
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
National Level ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Barren Land ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Annapurna Conservation Area

Conservation areas are originally well-known for protecting landscape features and wildlife. They are playing key role in conserving and providing a wide range of ecosystem services, social, economic and cultural benefits as well as vital places for climate mitigation and adaptation. We have analyzed decadal changes in land cover and status of vegetation cover in the conservation area using both national level available data on land use land cover (LULC) changes (1990-2010) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (2010-2018) in Annapurna conservation area. LULC showed the barren land as the most dominant land cover types in all three different time series 1990, 2000 and 2010 with followed by snow cover, grassland, forest, agriculture and water body. The highest NDVI values were observed at Southern, Southwestern and Southeastern part of conservation area consisting of forest area, shrub land and grassland while toward low to negative in the upper middle to the Northern part of the conservation area.

scholarly journals Monitoring the Spatial Variation of Aerosol Optical Depth and Its Correlation with Land Use/Land Cover in Wuhan, China: A Perspective of Urban Planning

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1132
Author(s):  
Qijiao Xie ◽  
Qi Sun
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
The Impact

Aerosols significantly affect environmental conditions, air quality, and public health locally, regionally, and globally. Examining the impact of land use/land cover (LULC) on aerosol optical depth (AOD) helps to understand how human activities influence air quality and develop suitable solutions. The Landsat 8 image and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products in summer in 2018 were used in LULC classification and AOD retrieval in this study. Spatial statistics and correlation analysis about the relationship between LULC and AOD were performed to examine the impact of LULC on AOD in summer in Wuhan, China. Results indicate that the AOD distribution expressed an obvious “basin effect” in urban development areas: higher AOD values concentrated in water bodies with lower terrain, which were surrounded by the high buildings or mountains with lower AOD values. The AOD values were negatively correlated with the vegetated areas while positively correlated to water bodies and construction lands. The impact of LULC on AOD varied with different contexts in all cases, showing a “context effect”. The regression correlations among the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and AOD in given landscape contexts were much stronger than those throughout the whole study area. These findings provide sound evidence for urban planning, land use management and air quality improvement.

Assessment of land use and land cover datasets for Brazil and impact on C emissions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais M. Rosan ◽  
Kees Klein Goldewijk ◽  
Raphael Ganzenmüller ◽  
Michael O'Sullivan ◽  
Julia Pongratz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Dynamic Global Vegetation Model ◽  
Global Carbon Budget ◽  
National Estimates ◽  
National Trends ◽  
Global Vegetation ◽  
Land Cover Maps ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Brazil is responsible for about one third of the global land use and land cover change (LULCC) carbon dioxide emissions. However, there is a disagreement among different methodologies on the magnitude and trends in emissions and their geographic distribution. One of the main uncertainties is associated with different LULCC datatasets used as input in the different approaches. In this work we perform an evaluation of LULCC datasets for Brazil, including the global dataset (HYDE 3.2) used in the annual Global Carbon Budget (GCB), and national Brazilian dataset (MapBiomas) over the period 2000-2018. We also analyze the latest global HYDE 3.3 dataset based on new FAO inventory estimates and multi-annual ESA CCI satellite-based land cover maps. Results show that the new HYDE 3.3 can represent well the observed spatial variation in cropland and pastures areas over the last decades compared to national data (MapBiomas) and shows an improvement compared to HYDE 3.2 used in GCB. However, the magnitude of LULCC assessed with HYDE 3.3 is lower than national estimates from MapBiomas. Finally, we used HYDE 3.3 as input to two different approaches included in GCB, a global bookkeeping model (BLUE) and a process-based Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (JULES-ES) to determine the impact of the new version of HYDE dataset on Brazil&amp;#8217;s land-use emissions trends over the period 2000-2017. Both JULES-ES and BLUE now simulate a negative land-use emissions trend for the last two decades. This negative trend is in agreement with Brazilian INPE-EM, global H&amp;N bookkeeping models, FAO and as reported in National GHG inventories (NGHGI), although magnitudes differ among approaches. Overall, the inclusion of the multi-annual ESA CCI Land Cover dataset to allocate spatially the FAO statistical data has improved spatial representation of agricultural area change in Brazil in the last two decades, contributing to improve global model capability to simulate Brazil&amp;#8217;s LULCC emissions in agreement with national trends estimates and spatial distribution.&lt;/p&gt;

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