IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i11p2057-d974891.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consistent Changes in Land-Use/Land-Cover in Semi-Arid Areas: Implications on Ecosystem Service Delivery and Adaptation in the Limpopo Basin, Botswana

Author

Listed:
  • Ephias Mugari

    (Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
    Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Private Bag, Gaborone 0022, Botswana)

  • Hillary Masundire

    (Biological Science Department, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana, Private Bag, Gaborone 0022, Botswana)

Abstract

Ecosystems in semi-arid areas remain essential to securing livelihoods and aiding climate change adaptation. However, land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) is the leading driver of biodiversity, ecosystem services, habitat, and ecosystem loss in most rural areas of developing countries. We evaluated LULCC in the Bobirwa sub-district of Botswana between 1995 and 2015. We employed the supervised classification’s maximum likelihood algorithm on the 1995, 2005, and 2016 Landsat images to establish the implications of LULCC on the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem-based adaptation in the Limpopo Basin part of Botswana. Five major LULC classes—vegetation, cropland, bare land, built-up areas, and water bodies—were identified in the sub-district. The decline in vegetation by 50.67 km 2 /year between 1995 and 2016 was characterized by an increase in croplands (34.02 km 2 /year). These changes were attributed to the growing human population that induced farming households to expand croplands. Government programs also encouraged agricultural expansions by offering free inputs and compensating smallholder farmers for land preparation. Higher agricultural yields remained critically low while the loss of vegetated areas to croplands threatened biodiversity, habitats, and the sustainability of provisioning ES through impaired ecosystem functions. There is an urgent need to arrest all unnecessary agricultural expansions and enhance agricultural productivity from current land parcels. The government and other relevant stakeholders also need to strengthen the ecosystem management capacities of local communities and support them to develop and implement biodiversity-based village action plans. Engaging communities through participatory, biodiversity-based action planning promotes biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of ecosystem resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Ephias Mugari & Hillary Masundire, 2022. "Consistent Changes in Land-Use/Land-Cover in Semi-Arid Areas: Implications on Ecosystem Service Delivery and Adaptation in the Limpopo Basin, Botswana," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:11:p:2057-:d:974891
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/11/2057/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/11/2057/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandifer, Paul A. & Sutton-Grier, Ariana E. & Ward, Bethney P., 2015. "Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: Opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 1-15.
    2. Yunfei Zhao & Zhibo Han & Yuanquan Xu, 2022. "Impact of Land Use/Cover Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Guangxi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Haizhen Chen & Yi Chen & Xiaosong Chen & Xingzhong Zhang & Haowei Wu & Zhihui Li, 2022. "Impacts of Historical Land Use Changes on Ecosystem Services in Guangdong Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Abera Assefa Biratu & Bobe Bedadi & Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot & Assefa M. Melesse & Tilahun Hordofa Nebi & Wuletawu Abera & Lulseged Tamene & Anthony Egeru, 2022. "Impact of Landscape Management Scenarios on Ecosystem Service Values in Central Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Ephias Mugari & Hillary Masundire & Maitseo Bolaane, 2020. "Effects of Droughts on Vegetation Condition and Ecosystem Service Delivery in Data-Poor Areas: A Case of Bobirwa Sub-District, Limpopo Basin and Botswana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Stephen Polasky & Erik Nelson & Derric Pennington & Kris Johnson, 2011. "The Impact of Land-Use Change on Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Returns to Landowners: A Case Study in the State of Minnesota," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 48(2), pages 219-242, February.
    7. Akinyemi, Felicia O. & Mashame, Gofamodimo, 2018. "Analysis of land change in the dryland agricultural landscapes of eastern Botswana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 798-811.
    8. Zhihong Liao & Kai Su & Xuebing Jiang & Xiangbei Zhou & Zhu Yu & Zhongchao Chen & Changwen Wei & Yiming Zhang & Luying Wang, 2022. "Ecosystem and Driving Force Evaluation of Northeast Forest Belt," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, August.
    9. Botlhe Matlhodi & Piet K. Kenabatho & Bhagabat P. Parida & Joyce G. Maphanyane, 2019. "Evaluating Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Gaborone Dam Catchment, Botswana, from 1984–2015 Using GIS and Remote Sensing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ephias Mugari & Hillary Masundire & Maitseo Bolaane, 2020. "Adapting to Climate Change in Semi-Arid Rural Areas: A Case of the Limpopo Basin Part of Botswana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-34, October.
    2. Quanfeng Li & Lu Wang & Guoming Du & Bonoua Faye & Yunkai Li & Jicheng Li & Wei Liu & Shijin Qu, 2022. "Dynamic Variation of Ecosystem Services Value under Land Use/Cover Change in the Black Soil Region of Northeastern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Zhibo Lu & Qian Song & Jianyun Zhao & Shiru Wang, 2022. "Prediction and Evaluation of Ecosystem Service Value Based on Land Use of the Yellow River Source Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Dainee M. Gibson & John E. Quinn, 2017. "Application of Anthromes to Frame Scenario Planning for Landscape-Scale Conservation Decision Making," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Wai Soe Zin & Aya Suzuki & Kelvin S.-H. Peh & Alexandros Gasparatos, 2019. "Economic Value of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Recreation in Popa Mountain National Park, Myanmar: A Comparison of Two Rapid Valuation Techniques," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Christopher Hassall & Michael Nisbet & Evan Norcliffe & He Wang, 2024. "The Potential Health Benefits of Urban Tree Planting Suggested through Immersive Environments," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-12, February.
    7. Lü, Da & Gao, Guangyao & Lü, Yihe & Xiao, Feiyan & Fu, Bojie, 2020. "Detailed land use transition quantification matters for smart land management in drylands: An in-depth analysis in Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. Deborah F Coldwell & Karl L Evans, 2017. "Contrasting effects of visiting urban green-space and the countryside on biodiversity knowledge and conservation support," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Kaowen Grace Chang & William C. Sullivan & Ying-Hsuan Lin & Weichia Su & Chun-Yen Chang, 2016. "The Effect of Biodiversity on Green Space Users’ Wellbeing—An Empirical Investigation Using Physiological Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-15, October.
    10. Matthew Dennis & David Barlow & Gina Cavan & Penny A. Cook & Anna Gilchrist & John Handley & Philip James & Jessica Thompson & Konstantinos Tzoulas & C. Philip Wheater & Sarah Lindley, 2018. "Mapping Urban Green Infrastructure: A Novel Landscape-Based Approach to Incorporating Land Use and Land Cover in the Mapping of Human-Dominated Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-25, January.
    11. Min Liu & Jianpeng Fan & Yuanzheng Li & Qizheng Mao, 2023. "Ecosystem Service Optimisation in the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration Based on Land Use Structure Adjustment," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, July.
    12. Brendan Fisher & Stephen Polasky & Thomas Sterner, 2011. "Conservation and Human Welfare: Economic Analysis of Ecosystem Services," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 48(2), pages 151-159, February.
    13. William L. Rice & Sarah Y. Michels & Miranda Foster & Jon Graham & Peter Whitney & Jennifer M. Thomsen, 2023. "Exploring the Impacts of Protected Areas’ Attributes on Pediatric Health: The Case for Additional Research beyond Greenspace," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Manoj Sharma & Erin Largo-Wight & Amar Kanekar & Hana Kusumoto & Stephanie Hooper & Vinayak K. Nahar, 2020. "Using the Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change to Explain Intentional Outdoor Nature Contact Behavior among College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-12, August.
    15. Mengzhu Liu & Leilei Min & Jingjing Zhao & Yanjun Shen & Hongwei Pei & Hongjuan Zhang & Yali Li, 2021. "The Impact of Land Use Change on Water-Related Ecosystem Services in the Bashang Area of Hebei Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Duy X. Tran & Diane Pearson & Alan Palmer & David Gray, 2020. "Developing a Landscape Design Approach for the Sustainable Land Management of Hill Country Farms in New Zealand," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-29, June.
    17. Pelletier, Marie-Chantale & Heagney, Elizabeth & Kovač, Mladen, 2021. "Valuing recreational services: A review of methods with application to New South Wales National Parks," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    18. Shujun Liu & Xinzhuan Yao & Degang Zhao & Litang Lu, 2021. "Evaluation of the ecological benefits of tea gardens in Meitan County, China, using the InVEST model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7140-7155, May.
    19. Shengjun Yan & Xuan Wang & Yanpeng Cai & Chunhui Li & Rui Yan & Guannan Cui & Zhifeng Yang, 2018. "An Integrated Investigation of Spatiotemporal Habitat Quality Dynamics and Driving Forces in the Upper Basin of Miyun Reservoir, North China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Cordier, Mateo & Pérez Agúndez, José A. & Hecq, Walter & Hamaide, Bertrand, 2014. "A guiding framework for ecosystem services monetization in ecological–economic modeling," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 8(C), pages 86-96.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:11:p:2057-:d:974891. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.