IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v23y2021i7d10.1007_s10668-020-01079-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dynamics and drivers of land cover change in the Afroalpine vegetation belt: Abune Yosef mountain range, Northern Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Kflay Gebrehiwot

    (Addis Ababa University
    Samara University)

  • Ermias Teferi

    (Addis Ababa University
    Addis Ababa University)

  • Zerihun Woldu

    (Addis Ababa University)

  • Mekbib Fekadu

    (Addis Ababa University)

  • Temesgen Desalegn

    (EIAR)

  • Sebsebe Demissew

    (Addis Ababa University)

Abstract

Land use and land cover (LULC) change is a global concern because it could lead to the loss of biodiversity and negatively impact ecosystem services and functions, and has an important contribution to climate change. LULC change dynamics and their driving factors are not uniform globally and locally which makes decision making uncertain. This study seeks to quantify the extent of LULC change in Abune Yosef mountain range. To do this, we conducted a supervised classification using maximum likelihood classifier of 2 Landsat images from 1986 to 2017. Ground reference points and aerial photographs were used for accuracy assessment. Results revealed that the area of Afroalpine grassland has declined by −64.76%, from 10, 500 ha to 3700 ha. Other declines were seen in grazing land (−72.15%, 5900 ha), open woodland from (−100%, 3900 ha), and shrubland (−7.04%, 2500 ha). On the other hand, agricultural land area has increased from 38,300 to 48,700 ha (+ 27.15%), barren land from 5400 to 8900 ha (+ 64.81%), rivers, riverbeds, and gullies from 1100 to 3700 (+ 236.56%), plantation forests from 2500 to 4700 ha (+ 88%), and urban settlements from 300 to 500 ha (+ 66.66%). The main drivers of substantial LULC change were identified as increased human population pressure, and temperature and precipitation variability accompanied by the absence of land use policy. Policy developers, decision makers, and local communities may refer this study to develop land use policy, conservation planning, and prioritization to ensure sustainable resource utilization.

Suggested Citation

  • Kflay Gebrehiwot & Ermias Teferi & Zerihun Woldu & Mekbib Fekadu & Temesgen Desalegn & Sebsebe Demissew, 2021. "Dynamics and drivers of land cover change in the Afroalpine vegetation belt: Abune Yosef mountain range, Northern Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10679-10701, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:7:d:10.1007_s10668-020-01079-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-01079-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-020-01079-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-020-01079-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berihun, Mulatu Liyew & Tsunekawa, Atsushi & Haregeweyn, Nigussie & Meshesha, Derege Tsegaye & Adgo, Enyew & Tsubo, Mitsuru & Masunaga, Tsugiyuki & Fenta, Ayele Almaw & Sultan, Dagnenet & Yibeltal, Me, 2019. "Exploring land use/land cover changes, drivers and their implications in contrasting agro-ecological environments of Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Fengyi Guo & Jonathan Lenoir & Timothy C. Bonebrake, 2018. "Land-use change interacts with climate to determine elevational species redistribution," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    3. Sisay Nune Hailemariam & Teshome Soromessa & Demel Teketay, 2016. "Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Bale Mountain Eco-Region of Ethiopia during 1985 to 2015," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-22, November.
    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. Mengist, Wondimagegn & Soromessa, Teshome & Feyisa, Gudina Legese & Jenerette, G. Darrel, 2022. "Socio-environmental determinants of the perceived value of moist Afromontane forest ecosystem services in Kaffa Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Admassie, Assefa & Abebaw, Degnet, 2021. "Ethiopia – Land, energy, climate change, and agricultural development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security," Working Papers 308804, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    3. Nigussie, Zerihun & Tsunekawa, Atsushi & Haregeweyn, Nigussie & Tsubo, Mitsuru & Adgo, Enyew & Ayalew, Zemen & Abele, Steffen, 2021. "The impacts of Acacia decurrens plantations on livelihoods in rural Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    4. Gezahegn Weldu Woldemariam & Arus Edo Harka, 2020. "Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Soil Erosion in Erer Sub-Basin, Northeast Wabi Shebelle Basin, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-25, April.
    5. Yue Wang & Ge Song & Wenying Li, 2021. "The Interaction Relationship between Land Use Patterns and Socioeconomic Factors Based on Wavelet Analysis: A Case Study of the Black Soil Region of Northeast China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Fayaz Ahmad Lone & M. Imran Ganaie & Showkat A. Ganaie & M. Shafi Bhat & Javeed Ahmad Rather, 2023. "Drivers of agricultural land-use change in Kashmir valley - an application of mixed method approach," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.
    7. Yuhan Wang & Chenyujing Yang & Yuanyuan Zhang & Yongji Xue, 2023. "Mountainous Areas: Alleviating the Shortage of Cultivated Land Caused by Changing Dietary Structure in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Belay Manjur Gebru & Woo-Kyun Lee & Asia Khamzina & Sonam Wangyel Wang & Sungeun Cha & Cholho Song & Munkhansan Lamchin, 2021. "Spatiotemporal multi-index analysis of desertification in dry Afromontane forests of northern Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 423-450, January.
    9. Liu, Shuchang & Xiao, Wu & Ye, Yanmei & He, Tingting & Luo, Heng, 2023. "Rural residential land expansion and its impacts on cultivated land in China between 1990 and 2020," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    10. Sajid Khan & Zishan Ahmad Wani & Rameez Ahmad & Kailash S. Gaira & Susheel Verma, 2024. "Time series analysis of climatic variability and trends in Shiwalik to Pir Panjal mountain range in the Indian western Himalaya," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 20355-20377, August.
    11. Owais Bashir & Shabir Ahmad Bangroo & Wei Guo & Gowhar Meraj & Gebiaw T. Ayele & Nasir Bashir Naikoo & Shahid Shafai & Perminder Singh & Mohammad Muslim & Habitamu Taddese & Irfan Gani & Shafeeq Ur Ra, 2022. "Simulating Spatiotemporal Changes in Land Use and Land Cover of the North-Western Himalayan Region Using Markov Chain Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Eskinder Gidey & Oagile Dikinya & Reuben Sebego & Eagilwe Segosebe & Amanuel Zenebe & Said Mussa & Paidamwoyo Mhangara & Emiru Birhane, 2023. "Land Use and Land Cover Change Determinants in Raya Valley, Tigray, Northern Ethiopian Highlands," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Ashebir WoldeYohannes & Marc Cotter & Girma Kelboro & Wubneshe Dessalegn, 2018. "Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Their Effects on the Landscape of Abaya-Chamo Basin, Southern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, January.
    14. Séverin Biaou & Gerard Nounagnon Gouwakinnou & Honoré Samadori Sorotori Biaou & Marc Sèwanou Tovihessi & Beranger Kohomlan Awessou & Fiacre Codjo Ahononga & Felix Ogoubiyi Houéto, 2022. "Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(8), pages 9885-9905, August.
    15. Beibei Guo & Xiaobin Jin & Yelin Fang & Yinkang Zhou, 2020. "Evaluation of Sustainable Regional Development Combining Remote Sensing Data and Ecological Constraints: A Case Study of Chaohu Basin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    16. Lu Yu & Dinglong Xie & Xiang Xu, 2022. "Environmental Suitability Evaluation for Human Settlements of Rural Residential Areas in Hengshui, Hebei Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Su Wu & Neema Simon Sumari & Ting Dong & Gang Xu & Yanfang Liu, 2021. "Characterizing Urban Expansion Combining Concentric-Ring and Grid-Based Analysis for Latin American Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    18. Nigussie, Zerihun & Tsunekawa, Atsushi & Haregeweyn, Nigussie & Adgo, Enyew & Tsubo, Mitsuru & Ayalew, Zemen & Abele, Steffen, 2020. "Economic and financial sustainability of an Acacia decurrens-based Taungya system for farmers in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    19. Nan Ke & Xupeng Zhang & Xinhai Lu & Bing Kuang & Bin Jiang, 2022. "Regional Disparities and Influencing Factors of Eco-Efficiency of Arable Land Utilization in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-17, February.
    20. Negasi Solomon & Alcade C. Segnon & Emiru Birhane, 2019. "Ecosystem Service Values Changes in Response to Land-Use/Land-Cover Dynamics in Dry Afromontane Forest in Northern Ethiopia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, November.

    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:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:7:d:10.1007_s10668-020-01079-0. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.