Detecting Trends in Landuse and Landcover Change of Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia

authored by: Aramde Fetene, Thomas Hilker, Kumelachew Yeshitela, Ruediger Prasse, Warren Cohen, Zhiqiang Yang
Abstract: Nech Sar National Park (NSNP) is one of the most important biodiversity centers in Ethiopia. In recent years, a widespread decline of the terrestrial ecosystems has been reported, yet to date there is no comprehensive assessment on degradation across the park. In this study, changes in landcover were analyzed using 30 m spatial resolution Landsat imagery. Interannual variations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were examined and compared with climatic variables. The result presented seven landcover classes and five of the seven landcover classes (forest, bush/shrubland, wooded grassland, woodland and grassland) were related to natural vegetation and two landcover types (cultivated land and area under encroaching plants) were direct results of anthropogenic alterations of the landscape. The forest, grassland, and wooded grassland are the most threatened habitat types. A considerable area of the grassland has been replaced by encroaching plants, prominently by Dichrostachys cinerea, Acacia mellifera, A. nilotica, A. oerfota, and A. seyal and is greatly affected by expansion of herbaceous plants, most commonly the species of the family Malvaceae which include Abutilon anglosomaliae, A.bidentatum and A.figarianu. Thus, changes in vegetation of NSNP may be attributed to (i) degradation of existing vegetation through deforestation and (ii) replacement of existing vegetation by encroaching plants. While limited in local meteorological station, NDVI analysis indicated that climate related changes did not have major effects on park vegetation degradation, which suggests anthropogenic impacts as a major driver of observed disturbances.
Organisation(s): Institute of Environmental Planning
External Organisation(s): Addis Ababa University
Debre Markos University (DMU)
Oregon State University
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Type: Article
Journal: Environmental management
Volume: 57
Pages: 137-147
No. of pages: 11
ISSN: 0364-152X
Publication date: 23.08.2015
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Global and Planetary Change, Ecology, Pollution
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 15 - Life on Land
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0603-0 (Access: Closed)