Anthropogenic pressure in East Africa—Monitoring 20 years of land cover changes by means of medium resolution satellite data

Brink, Andreas; Bodart, Catherine; Brodsky, Lukas; Defourney, Pierre; Ernst, C. L.; Donney, Francois; Lupi, Andrea; Tuckova, Katerina

doi:10.1016/j.jag.2013.11.006

Cited by 68 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This is particularly evident for the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa) region where over the last two decades various land cover change processes, mainly driven by demographic growth, caused high losses of natural vegetation and an increase in agricultural areas [24,25]. In Tanzania, several studies have been conducted to explore LULCC and its impact at regional and local levels [26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability in the Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus: The Role of Land Use and Land Cover Change for Water Resources and Ecosystems in the Kilombero Wetland, Tanzania

et al. 2017

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Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) has a significant impact on water resources and ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). On the basis of three research projects we aim to describe and discuss the potential, uncertainties, synergies and science-policy interfaces of satellite-based integrated research for the Kilombero catchment, comprising one of the major agricultural utilized floodplains in Tanzania. LULCC was quantified at the floodplain and catchment scale analyzing Landsat 5 and Sentinel 2 satellite imagery applying different adapted classification methodologies. LULC maps at the catchment scale serve as spatial input for the distributed, process-based ecohydrological model SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) simulating the changes in the spatial and temporal water balance in runoff components caused by LULCC. The results reveal that over the past 26 years LULCC has significantly altered the floodplain and already shows an impact on the ecosystem by degrading the existing wildlife corridors. On the catchment scale the anomalies of the water balance are still marginal, but with the expected structural changes of the catchment there is an urgent need to increase the public awareness and knowledge of decision makers regarding the effect of the relationship between LULCC, water resources and environmental degradation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability in the Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus: The Role of Land Use and Land Cover Change for Water Resources and Ecosystems in the Kilombero Wetland, Tanzania

et al. 2017

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“…In African landscapes, pastoralism, shifting cultivation, permanent or semi-permanent agriculture, and agroforestry have altered the environment to a point that the present landscape is the product of human-induced changes as much as natural variation in vegetation [7]. Over the last decades, anthropogenic impacts and competition over land have become issues of major concern [8,9]. Many areas in Africa are experiencing substantial human population growth, and, as a result, a shift away from extensive pastoral livestock-keeping to subsistence-oriented small-scale farming and agroforestry [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the last 10-15 years have also seen agricultural intensification. Triggered mainly by large-scale agricultural investments, it has become an additional important driver of land cover and land use change [8,10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

et al. 2017

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This study spatially assesses, quantifies, and visualizes the agricultural expansion and land use intensification in the northwestern foothills of Mount Kenya over the last 30 years: processes triggered by population growth, and, more recently, by large-scale commercial investments. We made use of Google Earth Engine to access the USGS Landsat data archive and to generate cloud-free seasonal composites. These enabled us to accurately differentiate between rainfed and irrigated cropland, which was important for assessing agricultural intensification. We developed three land cover and land use classifications using the random forest classifier, and assessed land cover and land use change by creating cross-tabulation matrices for the intervals from 1987 to 2002, 2002 to 2016, and 1987 to 2016 and calculating the net change. We then applied a landscape mosaic approach to each classification to identify landscape types categorized by land use intensity. We discuss the impacts of landscape changes on natural habitats, biodiversity, and water. Kappa accuracies for the three classifications lay between 78.3% and 82.1%. Our study confirms that rainfed and irrigated cropland expanded at the expense of natural habitats, including protected areas. Agricultural expansion took place mainly in the 1980s and 1990s, whereas agricultural intensification largely happened after 2000. Since then, not only large-scale producers, but also many smallholders have begun to practice irrigated farming. The spatial pattern of agricultural expansion and intensification in the study area is defined by water availability. Agricultural intensification and the expansion of horticulture agribusinesses increase pressure on water. Furthermore, the observed changes have heightened pressure on pasture and idle land due to the decrease in natural and agropastoral landscapes. Conflicts between pastoralists, smallholder farmers, large-scale ranches, and wildlife might further increase, particularly during the dry seasons and in years of extreme drought.

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“…For instance, Tagesson et al (2015) reported a strong link between inter-annual variation in species composition and rainfall distribution in a semiarid savanna grassland study site in West Africa region. The East Africa region, covered in this study, exhibits a wide range of climatic and ecological zones leading to diverse land cover types and land cover change dynamics (Brink et al, 2014). Due to the high dependence of livelihoods on rain-fed agriculture, there is high vulnerability to extreme negative effects of climate change in the region (Ayana et al, 2016;Grace et al, 2014;Pricope et al, 25 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Due to the high dependence of livelihoods on rain-fed agriculture, there is high vulnerability to extreme negative effects of climate change in the region (Ayana et al, 2016;Grace et al, 2014;Pricope et al, 25 2013). Land cover/use change is a major threat to the ecological systems in East Africa (Brink et al, 2014;Jacobson et al, 2015;Maitima et al, 2009;Pricope et al, 2013). As reported by Jacobson et al (2015), approximately 30% of the region has been converted to cropland or urban areas with Burundi and Rwanda showing the highest proportions, 85.99% and 82.27% respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation dynamics and responses to climate anomalies in East Africa

Musau

Patil

Sheffield

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Anthropogenic pressure in East Africa—Monitoring 20 years of land cover changes by means of medium resolution satellite data

Cited by 68 publications

References 33 publications

Sustainability in the Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus: The Role of Land Use and Land Cover Change for Water Resources and Ecosystems in the Kilombero Wetland, Tanzania

Sustainability in the Food-Water-Ecosystem Nexus: The Role of Land Use and Land Cover Change for Water Resources and Ecosystems in the Kilombero Wetland, Tanzania

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

Vegetation dynamics and responses to climate anomalies in East Africa

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