The Impacts of Changes in Land Use on Woodlands in an Equatorial African Savanna
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Land degradation & development
Abstract
Savanna landscapes are vitally important in providing both ecological and economic services that sustain local livelihoods and national economies,
particularly for sub-Saharan African countries whose economies are mainly agrarian. Development prospects in savanna landscapes
are however dependent on actions to avoid and to slow or reverse degradation and that are aided with a clear understanding of trends in land
use/cover changes, their causes and implications for conservation. We analysed land use/cover changes based on three Landsat satellite
images (1984, 1995 and 2000/2001) and the influence of human utilization on the changes in an equatorial African savanna, central Uganda,
for the period 1984–2000/2001. The land cover classification and change analysis clearly identified the dominant land cover types, revealing
a severe reduction in woodland cover with dense woodlands decreasing by 64%, over a 17-year period. Consequently, medium woodland,
open woodland and cultivation/settlements areas cover increased by 31%, 3% and 80%, respectively. The cover change analysis results were
corroborated with interview results that also attributed the woodland cover loss to increasing commercial charcoal production, expanding
livestock grazing, subsistence crop cultivation and an insecure land use tenure system. Indeed, the major land use types in the savanna are
charcoal production, shifting crop cultivation and livestock rearing. The decreasing woody vegetation cover threatens the savanna’s ability
to continue providing ecosystems services to support the livelihoods of people who mainly depend on natural resources and are vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change.
Description
Keywords
Biomass energy, Charcoal production, Landsat imagery, Lvelihoods
Citation
Kalema, VN, Witkowski, ET, Erasmus, BF, & Mwavu, EN (2015). The impacts of changes in land use on woodlands in an equatorial African savanna. Land degradation & development , 26 (7), 632-641. DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2279