Land Use/ Land Cover Dynamics and Vegetation Vulnerability Analysis: a Case study of Arsi Negele Wereda
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2007-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
With rapid increases in population and continuing expectations of growth in the standard
of living, pressure on natural resource use have become intense . The task of effective
resource allocation is of paramount importance for natural resource management. In this
study, land use land cover dynamics and vegetation vulnerability mapping of Arsi Negele
wereda have been produced using GIS and Remote Sensing, as a decision support in the
realm of resource allocation.
The land use/land cover condition of the study area have been spatially compared using
multi temporal analysis of four episodic satellite images;1973 MSS,1986 TM ,2000
ETM+ and 2006 ASTER . Vegetation vulnerability map of the study area have been
produced using multi criteria decision evaluation. Four model parameters: proximity to
road, slope, proximity to settlement, and land use management have been used to run the
vulnerability model. Moreover, fragmentation index and landscape diversity index have
been used, in order to study the land use structural change of the landscape.
The result of multitemporal imagery has depicted that the study area has undergone a
series of land degradation from 1973 up to 2006. During this time, the lakes have shrunk,
the high forest and the acacia wood land have decreased, whereas, cultivated lands and
degraded lands have increased. The diversity index has decreased resulting in decline
ecological abundance and complexity of the landscape. Fragmentation indices of most
land cover classes have increased resulting in habitat fragmentation which is one of the
major causes of biodiversity loss. The resultant vegetation vulnerability map along with
the land use /land cover and structural dynamics can serve local planners and scientists as
a primary source of information for NRM (natural resource management) of the study
area.
Key words: GIS, RS, land use /land cover, vulnerability model, vegetation, land use
structure, rift valley, Arsi Negele
Description
Keywords
GIS, RS, land use /land cover, Vulnerability model, Vegetation, land use structure, Rift valley, Arsi Negele