Spatial and Temporal Changes in Land Use/Land Cover and their Driving Forces in Kahe Forest, Northern Tanzania

Abstract

Deforestation is one of the major changes in terrestrial landscapes that affect the environment. Deforestation is caused by anthropogenic activities and a myriad of natural factors which cause a global loss of natural biodiversity and alteration of ecological processes and services across different ecosystems. The analysis of the spatial-temporal changes in land use and land cover was done in Kahe Forest. Moderate resolution land satellite images were downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) archives and analysed using the random forest (RF) algorithm and mapped inArcGIS10 software to ascertain thechanges that took place in land use and land cover in Kahe Forest from 1998 to 2018. A questionnaire and key informant interviews were used to collect data. Findings show that agricultural land and grassland increased by 7 and 14 per cent while the forest area decreased from 85 to 51 per cent in the same period due to the escalation of human activities. The changes are caused by rapid population growth, wild fires, climate change and variability as well as human activities. It is recommended that the adoption of sustainable forest-management strategies such as the enforcement of the existing conservation laws and regulations and alternative environment-friendly sources of livelihood mainly community-based forest management should be enhanced by all stakeholders including the government and the community