Landuse/Cover Change Trend in Soroti District Eastern Uganda
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Date
2009
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Publisher
Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
Abstract
This study assessed the extent and trend of landuse/cover change in Soroti District, Uganda. A
series of systematically corrected Orthorectified Landsat imageries of 1973, 1986 and 2001 were downloaded from
the Landsat website. The images were analysed using unsupervised classification approach and the land-use/cover
were validated and/or reconstructed by ground truthing, use of secondary data, and key informants. The study
establishes that; small-scale farming was the major landuse type (24.2%) and grasslands were the dominant landcover
unit (26.1%) in 1973. Small-scale farming however declined by 5.3% in 1986 due to prevailing insurgence at the time
while grasslands gained by 2.9%. In 2001, small-scale farming had increased by 13.6% at the expense of woodlands
(-2.3%), Bushlands(-5.5%), Forest stock (-2.2%) and wetlands (-0.44) that experienced declines. This drastic gain in
small-scale farming is likely to treat negative environmental effects such as intensity of floods and droughts, soil
nutrient and biodiversity loss due habitat conversion.
Description
Keywords
Landuse, Cover Change Trend, Soroti District Eastern Uganda
Citation
Egeru, A., & Majaliwa, M. C. J. (2009). Landuse/cover change trend in Soroti District Eastern Uganda. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 13(4).