Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Deforestation in the Central Taraba State: A Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing Analysis

Abstract

Deforestation, the widespread clearance of forests for various land uses, has become a significant global environmental issue with far-reaching consequences. Deforestation in the study area was identified, categorized, assessed, and interpreted using Landsat 5, 7, and 8 from the years 2008, 2014, and 2020, respectively. A geographic information system (GIS) database of land use and land cover categories and their changes were created. The results showed that several anthropogenic human activities, including agriculture and wood harvesting, were driving a general retreat of the forest area. The study further shows that between 2008 and 2020, forest area decreased by 8.5% with an annual rate of 0.33%, other vegetative areas increased by 2% with an annual rate of 0.077%, and non-vegetative areas increased by 1.5% with an annual rate of 0.58%. The hotspot map shows that the rate at which the reserve is deteriorating and the conversion of the forest area to other vegetation and bare ground are only a matter of time. The study recommended that the government should adopt rigorous policies to protect forest reserves from unauthorized habitation by encouraging the use of alternative firewood fuel sources to reduce the pressure on the forest.