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Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017

Received: 13 March 2019    Accepted: 28 April 2019    Published: 4 June 2019
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Abstract

This study is focused on land use and land cover dynamics observed in Central River Region. It aims to determine the direction and rate of change in land use as a means of assessing the impact of climate change in Central River Region (CRR) of The Gambia. Decadal satellite images were used to measure changes in land use and land cover from 1984 to 2017 using supervised classification. Eight land use and land cover types were identified and mapped in this study namely: Crop lands, Gambia River, Halophytic vegetation, Irrigated crops, Mangrove, Settlement, Shrub/Wood savanna and Wooded savanna. The areas of crop lands, halophytic vegetation and settlement expanded between 1984 and 2017. River Gambia, irrigated crops, mangrove, shrub/wood savanna and wooded savanna areas decreased during the same period. Transition to less savanna was higher than transition to more settlement. In addition, physicochemical parameters were analyzed during the rainy and dry seasons for correlation with climate data. Socioeconomic surveys based on structured questionnaires were also conducted with 70 households in 6 villages in CRR. Land clearing for agriculture, tree cutting for firewood and charcoal, settlement and livestock grazing were mainly cited by the respondents as the main culprit inducing land cover change in CRR. This study shows that deforestation and forest degradation are still in progress despite the implementation of a management plan for a full rotation. We therefore proposed best management practices in order to control the agricultural clearing of land in the region such as agricultural intensification and soil fertility improvement.

Published in American Journal of Modern Energy (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11
Page(s) 5-18
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Satellite Images, Land Use Land Cover, CRR, Supervised Classification, Vegetation

References
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  • APA Style

    Omar Ali Bah, Tidiani Kone, Sidat Yaffa, Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye. (2019). Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017. American Journal of Modern Energy, 5(2), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11

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    ACS Style

    Omar Ali Bah; Tidiani Kone; Sidat Yaffa; Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye. Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017. Am. J. Mod. Energy 2019, 5(2), 5-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11

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    AMA Style

    Omar Ali Bah, Tidiani Kone, Sidat Yaffa, Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye. Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017. Am J Mod Energy. 2019;5(2):5-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11,
      author = {Omar Ali Bah and Tidiani Kone and Sidat Yaffa and Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye},
      title = {Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017},
      journal = {American Journal of Modern Energy},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {5-18},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajme.20190502.11},
      abstract = {This study is focused on land use and land cover dynamics observed in Central River Region. It aims to determine the direction and rate of change in land use as a means of assessing the impact of climate change in Central River Region (CRR) of The Gambia. Decadal satellite images were used to measure changes in land use and land cover from 1984 to 2017 using supervised classification. Eight land use and land cover types were identified and mapped in this study namely: Crop lands, Gambia River, Halophytic vegetation, Irrigated crops, Mangrove, Settlement, Shrub/Wood savanna and Wooded savanna. The areas of crop lands, halophytic vegetation and settlement expanded between 1984 and 2017. River Gambia, irrigated crops, mangrove, shrub/wood savanna and wooded savanna areas decreased during the same period. Transition to less savanna was higher than transition to more settlement. In addition, physicochemical parameters were analyzed during the rainy and dry seasons for correlation with climate data. Socioeconomic surveys based on structured questionnaires were also conducted with 70 households in 6 villages in CRR. Land clearing for agriculture, tree cutting for firewood and charcoal, settlement and livestock grazing were mainly cited by the respondents as the main culprit inducing land cover change in CRR. This study shows that deforestation and forest degradation are still in progress despite the implementation of a management plan for a full rotation. We therefore proposed best management practices in order to control the agricultural clearing of land in the region such as agricultural intensification and soil fertility improvement.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Central River Region of the Gambia, West Africa from 1984 to 2017
    AU  - Omar Ali Bah
    AU  - Tidiani Kone
    AU  - Sidat Yaffa
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    Y1  - 2019/06/04
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11
    T2  - American Journal of Modern Energy
    JF  - American Journal of Modern Energy
    JO  - American Journal of Modern Energy
    SP  - 5
    EP  - 18
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3797
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20190502.11
    AB  - This study is focused on land use and land cover dynamics observed in Central River Region. It aims to determine the direction and rate of change in land use as a means of assessing the impact of climate change in Central River Region (CRR) of The Gambia. Decadal satellite images were used to measure changes in land use and land cover from 1984 to 2017 using supervised classification. Eight land use and land cover types were identified and mapped in this study namely: Crop lands, Gambia River, Halophytic vegetation, Irrigated crops, Mangrove, Settlement, Shrub/Wood savanna and Wooded savanna. The areas of crop lands, halophytic vegetation and settlement expanded between 1984 and 2017. River Gambia, irrigated crops, mangrove, shrub/wood savanna and wooded savanna areas decreased during the same period. Transition to less savanna was higher than transition to more settlement. In addition, physicochemical parameters were analyzed during the rainy and dry seasons for correlation with climate data. Socioeconomic surveys based on structured questionnaires were also conducted with 70 households in 6 villages in CRR. Land clearing for agriculture, tree cutting for firewood and charcoal, settlement and livestock grazing were mainly cited by the respondents as the main culprit inducing land cover change in CRR. This study shows that deforestation and forest degradation are still in progress despite the implementation of a management plan for a full rotation. We therefore proposed best management practices in order to control the agricultural clearing of land in the region such as agricultural intensification and soil fertility improvement.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • WASCAL Graduate Research Program in Climate Change and Biodiversity, University of Felix Houphou?t-Boigny, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

  • UFR Environment, University of Jean Lorougnon Guede, Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire

  • School of Environmental Sciences, University of The Gambia, Brikama Campus, Banjul, The Gambia

  • Laboratory of Geoinformation (LERG), Polytechnic High School, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

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