Land cover transition in northern Tanzania

Land conversion in Sub-Saharan Africa has profound biophysical, ecological, political and social consequences for human wellbeing and ecosystems services. Understanding the process of land cover changes and transitions is essential for good ecosystem management policy that would lead to improved agr...

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Autores principales: Ouédraogo, I., Barron, Jennie, Tumbo, S.D., Kahimba, F.C.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/69372
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author Ouédraogo, I.
Barron, Jennie
Tumbo, S.D.
Kahimba, F.C.
author_browse Barron, Jennie
Kahimba, F.C.
Ouédraogo, I.
Tumbo, S.D.
author_facet Ouédraogo, I.
Barron, Jennie
Tumbo, S.D.
Kahimba, F.C.
author_sort Ouédraogo, I.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Land conversion in Sub-Saharan Africa has profound biophysical, ecological, political and social consequences for human wellbeing and ecosystems services. Understanding the process of land cover changes and transitions is essential for good ecosystem management policy that would lead to improved agricultural production, human wellbeing and ecosystems health. This study aimed to assess land cover transitions in a typical semi-arid degraded agro-ecosystems environment within the Pangani River Basin in northern Tanzania. Three Landsat images spanning over 30 years were used to detect random and systematic patterns of land cover transition in a landscape dominated by crop and livestock farming. Results revealed that current land cover transition is driven by a systematic process of change dominated by (i) transition from degraded land to sparse bushland (10.8%), (ii) conversion from sparse bushland to dense bushland in lowland areas (6.0%), (iii) conversion from bushland to forest (4.8%), and (iv) conversion from dense bushland to cropland in the highlands (4.5%). Agricultural lands under water harvesting technology adoption show a high degree of persistence (60-80%) between time slices. This suggests that there is a trend in land-use change towards vegetation improvement in the catchment with a continuous increase in the adoption of water harvesting technologies for crop and livestock farming. This can be interpreted as a sign of agricultural intensification and vegetation re-growth in the catchment.
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spelling CGSpace693722025-06-17T08:23:17Z Land cover transition in northern Tanzania Ouédraogo, I. Barron, Jennie Tumbo, S.D. Kahimba, F.C. land cover change land use land degradation landscape scrublands ecosystems agroecology river basins water harvesting vegetation catchment areas livestock farms development Land conversion in Sub-Saharan Africa has profound biophysical, ecological, political and social consequences for human wellbeing and ecosystems services. Understanding the process of land cover changes and transitions is essential for good ecosystem management policy that would lead to improved agricultural production, human wellbeing and ecosystems health. This study aimed to assess land cover transitions in a typical semi-arid degraded agro-ecosystems environment within the Pangani River Basin in northern Tanzania. Three Landsat images spanning over 30 years were used to detect random and systematic patterns of land cover transition in a landscape dominated by crop and livestock farming. Results revealed that current land cover transition is driven by a systematic process of change dominated by (i) transition from degraded land to sparse bushland (10.8%), (ii) conversion from sparse bushland to dense bushland in lowland areas (6.0%), (iii) conversion from bushland to forest (4.8%), and (iv) conversion from dense bushland to cropland in the highlands (4.5%). Agricultural lands under water harvesting technology adoption show a high degree of persistence (60-80%) between time slices. This suggests that there is a trend in land-use change towards vegetation improvement in the catchment with a continuous increase in the adoption of water harvesting technologies for crop and livestock farming. This can be interpreted as a sign of agricultural intensification and vegetation re-growth in the catchment. 2016-04 2015-12-21T04:59:33Z 2015-12-21T04:59:33Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/69372 en Limited Access Wiley Ouedraogo, I.; Barron, Jennie; Tumbo, S. D.; Kahimba, F. C. 2015. Land cover transition in northern Tanzania. Land Degradation and Development, 40p. (Online first) doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2461
spellingShingle land cover change
land use
land degradation
landscape
scrublands
ecosystems
agroecology
river basins
water harvesting
vegetation
catchment areas
livestock farms
development
Ouédraogo, I.
Barron, Jennie
Tumbo, S.D.
Kahimba, F.C.
Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title_full Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title_fullStr Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title_full_unstemmed Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title_short Land cover transition in northern Tanzania
title_sort land cover transition in northern tanzania
topic land cover change
land use
land degradation
landscape
scrublands
ecosystems
agroecology
river basins
water harvesting
vegetation
catchment areas
livestock farms
development
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/69372
work_keys_str_mv AT ouedraogoi landcovertransitioninnortherntanzania
AT barronjennie landcovertransitioninnortherntanzania
AT tumbosd landcovertransitioninnortherntanzania
AT kahimbafc landcovertransitioninnortherntanzania