Ponte Academic Journal Nov 2016, Volume 72, Issue 11 |
DISTURBED ENVIRONMENTS IN NORTH WESTERN GHANA USING EARTH OBSERVATION DATASETS Author(s): Laari Prosper Basommi ,Szilard Szabo, Nyamekye Clement J. Ponte - Nov 2016 - Volume 72 - Issue 11 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2016.11.2 Abstract: Areas where mining activities takes place are susceptible to landscape changes and environmental degradation. Landscape studies using Earth observation datasets are not new, but challenging in developing countries like Ghana where natural resources abound. Most studies are often tailored towards the south due to the vast urbanization and natural resources to the neglect of the North Western part. This study quantified the LULCC for three periods (1991-2000-2014) with Landsat imageries using a supervised classification approach. LULCCs were estimated based on statistical techniques. The use of FRAGSTATS� was applied to determine the spatial heterogeneity of the landscapes and the changes thereof. Principal component analysis revealed the correlation structure of the landscape metrics and determined the trends of the LULCC in a multivariate way. The results showed a reduction in vegetation cover or shrub land at the expense of rising bare ground and settlement. It further showed fragmentation of landscape from 1991 to 2000 slightly lower than from 2000 to 2014. The increase in population, anthropogenic, illegal mining and socio economic activities has resulted in these fragmentations. These overall results suggest taking appropriate measures to conserve these precious ecologically natural ecosystem of the region and check the degrading woodland loss.
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