Monitoring land cover changes and farming dynamics in the fringes of Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda.
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Copernicus Meetings
Abstract
Analyzing the dominant forms and extent of land cover changes in the Mount Elgon region is
important for tracking conservation efforts and sustainable land management. Mount Elgon's
rugged terrain limits monitoring these changes over large areas. With conducive climatic
conditions, highly fertile and productive soils; Elgon is one of the densely populated rural
mountainous regions in East Africa. The demand for more agricultural land and space for
settlement has led to continued vegetation clearance and encroachment of the park. These
pressures combined with the loss of vegetation cover have led to the continued occurrence of
natural hazards, especially landslides and soil erosion events. Recent studies have given focus to
these hazards and coping strategies. However, monitoring changes in land cover and associated
driving factors are fundamental towards the improvement of land use, land restoration, and
vegetation recovery in Mount Elgon. This study used multitemporal satellite imagery, aerial
photographs, field surveys, and expert interviews to analyze and quantify the land cover flows in
the upper Manafwa watershed of Mount Elgon, for 42 years covering an area of 319.73km2. The
study employed remote sensing techniques and geographic information system and software to
map land cover changes for four stages (1978-1988, 1988-2001, 2001-2010, and 2010-2020). The
study considered nine land cover classes; tropical high forest well-stocked, grassland, shrubs,
bushland, bare & sparsely vegetated surfaces, tropical high forest low-stocked, agriculture, planted
forest, and built-up. The maximum likelihood classifier of supervised classification and postclassification
comparison technique was used in land cover classification and change detection
analysis.
Description
Keywords
Land cover, Farming dynamics, Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda
Citation
Opedes, H., Baartman, J., Mücher, S., & Mugagga, F. (2022). Monitoring land cover changes and farming dynamics in the fringes of Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda (No. EGU22-311). Copernicus Meetings. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-311