Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) based assessment of spatio-temporal dynamics of wetlands in Teltele watershed, Central Highlands of Ethiopia
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Date
2019-11
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Addis abeba Univercity
Abstract
Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems and play an important role in sustaining human, plant and animal life. However wetlands with inclusive of water body are under serious threat of loss. This in turn narrowed the opportunities of wetland service. Thus, study aimed to assesses the spatio-temporal dynamics of wetland‟s coverage in Teltale watershed, central Ethiopia. Data for this study area were generated from remotely sensed image (interpretation) with supplemented household survey. Landsat5, Landsat7, Landsat8 images of the year 1986, 1996, 2007 and 2018, respectively, were used to produce LULC maps and detect the associated dynamics. Before classification and change detection, preprocessing activity like image enhancement was taken place. In the course of classification satellite data were processed using pixel based supervised classification by approach of maximum likely hood classifier. The map and statistical value that showed the dynamics were generated in ArcGIS 10.5 and ERDAS imagine software. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and remotely sensed image interpretation. The findings showed that, rapid decrease of wetland and water body in space and time in Teltele watershed. But dramatic reduction was occurred between year of 2007 and 2018, mainly because of high expansion of Agriculture (irrigation) activity to the area. The combined use of GIS and remote sensing analysis has revealed that the wetland and water body decreased by 52.8% and 75.8% respectively during the past 32 years. Gradually the wetland and the water body positions got replaced by cultivated land and wetland respectively. These dynamics were driven by a combination of factors such as population growth, cultivated land (irrigation practice) expansion, settlement expansion, sediment deposition, waste damping and river diversion. In economic aspect the catchment‟s wetland and water body were supporting many people and play significant ecological role for long years, but now due to those identified causes in the study ,their potential reduced and forced to play little ecological as well as economic service role in the area. As the result of their decrease, swamp vegetation and birds were decreased. Therefore to overcome the problem it is recommended that, governmental organization and NGO‟s should develop strategies for wetland and water body conservation, and monitoring in the study area. Different stakeholders should create awareness to both rural and urban people concerning proper and wise use of the remaining wetland and water body sustainably.
Keywords: Teltele watershed, Cheleleka, dynamics of wetland, GIS and Remote Sensing, supervised classification, change detection, soil loss, driving factors and economic effect.
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Keywords
Teltele watershed, Cheleleka, dynamics of wetland, GIS and Remote Sensing