Spatio- Temporal Land Use Dynamics of Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria

Assessing spatio-temporal dynamic of land use of Port Harcourt Metropolis is very important. Such assessment provides basic information for appropriate decision-making. Utilizing quasi-experimental design of satellite images of Port Harcourt Metropolis between 1990 to 2020, the study identified built up area, waterbodies, farmland/sparse vegetation as the land use type. The study revealed that percentage change of waterbodies is 48.62 km2 (10.61%) and built up area landuses 213.09 km2 (46.50%); respectively increased in terms of areal extent while thick vegetation 89.13 km2 (19.45%) ,wetlands size 44.61 km2 (9.74%) and farm/spares vegetation land uses continued to decrease between 2000 and 2020. The results not only confirmed the applicability and effectiveness of the combined method of remote sensing and metrics, but also revealed notable spatio-temporal features of land use. The study indicates that the increase rate of built up area and other land use types are continuously at opposite direction due to urban expansion or urban sprawl. The study recommended that; adequate and continuous monitoring of landuse should be made by utilizing satellite remote sensing; there should be adequate land use planning and conservation management in the study area.