Forest Cover Change and Susceptibility to Forest Degradation Using Remote sensing and GIS Techniques: A Case of Dendi District, West Central Ethiopia
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Date
2017-03
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
At present, an excessive and destructive exploitation of forest resources is a threat that
exists at Dendi District. The principal aims of this study is to detect the magnitude and
rate of forest cover change over the last 27 years (between 1973 and 2000) and generate
susceptibility to forest degradation map using Remote sensing and GIS techniques in
Dendi District. NDVI image differencing and post-classification comparison Change
detection methods were employed.
The result of change detection analysis revealed that the area has shown a remarkable land
cover/land use changes in general and forest cover Change in particular. Specifically, the forest
cover land declined from 26,363 ha in 1973 to 25,020.4 ha in 1984 and dropped to 7,629.38 ha in
the year 2000 in the District. A significant forest cover reduction by about 71.06% has been
realized in the study area in the year 2000 when compared with the 1973 forest cover condition
with a deforestation rate of 693.84 ha per annum. More over, with respect to slope and elevation,
the amount of forest cover change process is so significant along with areas having a gradient of
less than 250 and elevation values of bellow 2,550 m.
In addition to this, susceptibility to forest degradation was done by considering factors
such as town Proximity, road Proximity, cultivated land proximity, slope gradient and
elevation value. In the mean time, three level of susceptibility to forest degradation
compartment map was generated with the support of GIS technology. Based on the forest
cover areas of the year 2000 (7,629. 38 ha) of Dendi District, about 1,543.52 ha, 4,402 .4
ha and 1,683.46 ha of forest cover land are categorized under low, moderately, and
highly susceptible to degradation respectively.
The problem of forest cover change is directly linked with the activity of man such as
population pressure, and the socio-economic factors like expansion of agricultural
activities, demand of fuel wood and constructional materials as well as using this
resource as income generating menses were identified as causes for forest cover change
at the study area. Besides, due to the problem of forest cover change; land degradation in
the form of soil erosion, runoff and flooding, as well as declining of biodiversity seems to
have reached a critical stage due to the problem of forest cover change. In order to hold
back the problem of forest cover change and its impact, corrective measures had been
suggested which can be implemented both in the short term and long term phase.
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Keywords
Sensing and GIS Techniques