Comparative Assessment of landuse and land cover dynamics in parts on Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

There are growing concerns about land use and land cover changes and its attendant consequences on the environment. The study aimed at a comparative analysis of land use and land cover changes in Mokwa and Rijau Local Government Areas of Niger state. This was achieved through a time-series analysis of imageries for 1987, 2002 and 2017. Three classes of land use types were analysed namely: vegetation, non vegetation and water bodies. Supervised classification using maximum likelihood classifier was used for the study. The results showed a 10.2% and 15.5% decrease in the vegetation cover in Rijau and Mokwa Local Government Areas respectively during the study. There was a 15.42% increase in non-vegetation area in Mokwa during the period of study. In comparison,10.97% upward trend was observed in Rijau. It was concluded from the findings of land use change detection that anthropogenic activities coupled with land management in the study area have contributed to the land use and land cover changes. The study recommends that urban planning strictly allocates land for various designated purposes and ensures continuous monitoring of physical developments to safeguard distortions to the natural environment. Also, Afforestation and Reforestation programs should be encouraged to help replenish the lost vegetation cover observed in the study area.