Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A comparative assessment of land cover dynamics of three protected forest areas in tropical eastern Africa

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Processes of deforestation, known to threaten tropical forest biodiversity, have not yet been studied sufficiently in East Africa. To shed light on the patterns and causes of human influences on protected forest ecosystems, comparisons of different study areas regarding land cover dynamics and potential drivers are needed. We analyze the development of land cover since the early 1970s for three protected East African rainforests and their surrounding farmlands and assess the relationship between the observed changes in the context of the protection status of the forests. Processing of Landsat satellite imagery of eight or seven time steps in regular intervals results in 12 land cover classes for the Kakamega–Nandi forests (Kenya) and Budongo Forest (Uganda) whereas ten are distinguished for Mabira Forest (Uganda). The overall classification accuracy assessed for the year 2001 or 2003 is similarly high for all three study areas (81% to 85%). The time series reveal that, despite their protection status, Kakamega–Nandi forests and Mabira Forest experienced major forest decrease, the first a continuous forest loss of 31% between 1972/1973 and 2001, the latter an abrupt loss of 24% in the late 1970s/early 1980s. For both forests, the temporally dense time series show short-term fluctuations in forest classes (e.g., areas of forest regrowth since the 1980s or exotic secondary bushland species from the 1990s onwards). Although selectively logged, Budongo Forest shows a much more stable forest cover extent. A visual overlay with population distribution for all three regions clearly indicates a relationship between forest loss and areas of high population density, suggesting population pressure as a main driver of deforestation. The revealed forest losses due to local and commercial exploitation further demonstrate that weak management impedes effective forest protection in East Africa.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, T. R., & Kupfer, J. A. (2000). Application of spherical statistics to change vector analysis of Landsat data: Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests. Remote Sensing of Environment, 74, 482–493. doi:10.1016/S0034-4257(00)00140-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baranga, D. (2007). Observations on resource use in Mabira Forest Reserve, Uganda. African Journal of Ecology, 45(s1), 2–6. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00729.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, R., & Scholes, R. J. (2002). Land cover changes in South Africa 1911–1993. South African Journal of Science, 98, 420–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bleher, B., Uster, D., & Bergsdorf, T. (2006). Assessment of the threat status and management effectiveness in Kakamega Forest, Kenya. Biodiversity and Conservation, 15(4), 1159–1177. doi:10.1007/s10531-004-3509-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, D. L. (2004). Proximate population factors and deforestation in tropical agricultural frontiers. Population and Environment, 25(6), 585–612. doi:10.1023/B:POEN.0000039066.05666.8d.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, D. L. (2005). Forest clearings among farm households in the Maya biosphere reserve. The Professional Geographer, 57(2), 157–168. doi:10.1111/j.0033-0124.2005.00469.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CBS (1979). 1979 Population census, analytical report (Vol. II). Nairobi: Central Bureau of Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • CBS (1996). Kenya population census 1989, analytical report on fertility and nuptiality (Vol. IV). Nairobi: Central Bureau of Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Congalton, G. R., & Green, K. (1998). Assessing the accuracy of remotely sensed data: principles and practices. Boca Raton: CRC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coppin, P., Jonckheere, I., Nackaerts, K., Muys, B., & Lambin, E. (2004). Digital change detection methods in ecosystem monitoring: A review. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25(9), 1565–1596. doi:10.1080/0143116031000101675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cropper, M., Puri, J., & Griffiths, C. (2001). Predicting the location of deforestation: The role of roads and protected areas in North Thailand. Land Economics, 77(2), 172–186. doi:10.2307/3147088.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davenport, T., Howard, P. C., & Baltzer, M. (1996). Biodiversity report for Mabira. Kampala: Forest Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Gregorio, A., & Jansen, L. J. M. (2000). Land cover classification system LCCS. Classification concepts and user manual. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ervin, J. (2003). Protected area assessment in perspective. Bioscience, 53, 819–822. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0819:PAAIP]2.0.CO;2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espírito-Santo, F. D. B., Shimabukuro, Y. E., & Kuplich, T. M. (2005). Mapping forest successional stages following deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia using multi-temporal Landsat images. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 26(3), 635–642. doi:10.1080/0143116042000274078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2003). Forestry outlook study for Africa—African forests: A view to 2020. Rome: European Commission, African Development Bank, FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2005). State of the world’s forests 2005. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farwig, N., Böhning-Gaese, K., & Bleher, B. (2006). Enhanced seed dispersal of Prunus africana in fragmented and disturbed forests? Oecologia, 147(2), 238–252. doi:10.1007/s00442-005-0288-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flamenco-Sandoval, A., Martínez Ramos, M., & Masera, O. R. (2007). Assessing implications of land-use and land cover change dynamics for conservation of a highly tropical rain forest. Biological Conservation, 138, 131–145. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forest Department (1996). Budongo forest reserve, biodiversity report no. 3. Kampala: Forest Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geist, H. J., & Lambin, E. F. (2001). What drives tropical deforestation? A meta-analysis of proximate and underlying causes of deforestation based on subnational case study evidence. Louvain-la-Neuve: LUCC Report Series 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giri, C., Defourny, P., & Shrestha, S. (2003). Land cover characterization and mapping of continental Southeast Asia using multi-resolution satellite sensor data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24(21), 4181–4196. doi:10.1080/0143116031000139827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groß, D. (2003). Entwicklung einer halbautomatisierten Methode zur satellitengestützten Veränderungskartierung in (semi)ariden Feuchtgebieten (Diploma Thesis). Department of Geosciences, Dresden University of Technology.

  • Guild, L. S., Cohen, W. B., & Kauffman, J. B. (2004). Detection of deforestation and land conversion in Rondônia, Brazil using change detection techniques. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25(4), 731–750. doi:10.1080/01431160310001598935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, A. J., Neilson, R. P., Dale, V. H., Flather, C., Iverson, L., Currie, D. J., et al. (2001). Global change in forests: Responses of species, communities, and biomes. Bioscience, 51, 765–779. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0765:GCIFRO]2.0.CO;2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard, P. C. (1991). Nature conservation in Uganda’s tropical forest reserves. Cambridge: IUCN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, P. C., Davenport, T. R. B., Kigenyi, F. W., Viskanic, P., Baltzer, M. C., Dickinson, C. J., et al. (2000). Protected area planning in the tropics: Uganda’s national system of forest nature reserves. Conservation Biology, 14(3), 858–875. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99180.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, C., Kim, S., Altstatt, A., Townshend, J. R. G., Davis, P., Song, K., et al. (2007). Rapid loss of Paraguay’s Atlantic forest and the status of protected areas—A Landsat assessment. Remote Sensing of Environment, 106, 460–466. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2006.09.016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ICRAF (1996). Tree cover changes in Kenya’s west Rift. In ICRAF-Report visions of landscapes and vegetation changes (pp. 106–115). Nairobi: ICRAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, J. R. (2005). Introductory digital image processing: A remote sensing perspective. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karani, P. K., Kiwanuka, L. S., & Sizomu-Kagolo, M. E. (1997a). Forest management plan for Budongo forest reserve (Including Budongo, Siba, Kitigo, Busaju and Kaniyo-Pabidi Forests), 4th Revision, for the Period 1st July 1997 to 30th June 2007. Kampala: Forest Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karani, P. K., Kiwanuka, L. S., & Sizomu-Kagolo, M. E. (1997b). Forest management plan for Mabira forest reserve, Mukono District—Uganda, for the Period 1st July 1997 to 30th June 2007. Kampala: Forest Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, R. E., Cohen, W. B., & Schroeder, T. A. (2007). Trajectory-based change detection for automated characterization of forest disturbance dynamics. Remote Sensing of Environment, 110(3), 370–386. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2007.03.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, J. T., & Ostrovsky, M. (2003). From space to species: Ecological applications for remote sensing. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18(6), 299–305. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00071-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KIFCON (1994). Kakamega forest. The official guide. Nairobi: KIFCON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein Goldewijk, K. (2001). Estimating global land use change over the past 300 years: The HYDE database. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 15(2), 417–433. doi:10.1029/1999GB001232.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Köhler, J. (2004). Was hat Biodiversitätsforschung mit ‘nachhaltiger Nutzung’ zu tun? Tier und Museum, 8(3), 82–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambin, E. F., & Geist, H. J. (2006). Land-use and land-cover change: Local processes and global impacts. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langoya, C. D., & Long, C. (1997). Local communities and ecotourism development in Budongo forest reserve, Uganda. London: ODI, Rural Development Foresty Network (RDFN).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lillesand, T. M., & Kiefer, R. W. (2000). Remote sensing and image interpretation. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lung, T. (2004). Landbedeckungsänderungen im Gebiet ,, Kakamega Forest und assoziierte Waldgebiete“ (Westkenia)—Multispektrale Klassifikation von Landsat-Satellitenbilddaten und Auswertung mittels Methoden im Raster-GIS. In G Schaab (Ed.), Karlsruher Geowissenschaftliche Schriften A 15. Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences.

  • Lung, T., & Schaab, G. (2004). Change-detection in Western Kenya: The documentation of fragmentation and disturbance for Kakamega Forest and associated forest areas by means of remotely-sensed imagery. In ISPRS archives vol. xxxv part B (DVD). Proceedings of the ISPRS XXth congress, 12–23 July 2004, Istanbul.

  • Lung, T., & Schaab, G. (2006). Assessing fragmentation and disturbance of west Kenyan rainforests by means of remotely sensed time series data and landscape metrics. African Journal of Ecology, 44, 491–506. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00663.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maas, J.-F. (1999). Monitoring land cover changes: A comparison of change detection techniques. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 20(1), 139–152. doi:10.1080/014311699213659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, N. (2004). The Exploitation and Disturbance History of Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya. In B Bleher, H Dalitz (Eds.), Bielefelder Ökologische Beiträge 20, BIOTA report no. 1. University of Bielefeld.

  • Mitchell, N., Lung, T., & Schaab, G. (2006). Tracing significant losses and limited gains in forest cover for the Kakamega–Nandi complex in western Kenya across 90 years by use of satellite imagery, aerial photography and maps. In (CD) Proceedings of ISPRS (TC7) mid-term symposium ‘Remote sensing: From pixels to processes’, 8–11 May 2006, Enschede.

  • Muchoney, D. M., & Haack, B. N. (1994). Change detection for monitoring forest defoliation. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 60, 1243–1251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutangah, J. G., Mwangangi, O., & Mwaura, P. K. (1992). Kakamega forest: A vegetation survey report. Nairobi: KIFCON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plumptre, A. J. (1996). Changes following 60 years of selective timber harvesting in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Forest Ecology and Management, 89, 101–113. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(96)03854-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plumptre, A. J. (2002). Extent and status of the forests in the Ugandan Albertine Rift. Report to UNDP/GEF and WWF. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://albertinerift.org/media/file/albertineriftforeststatus&extent.pdf.

  • Plumptre, A. J. & Reynolds, V. (1994). The effect of selective logging on the primate populations in the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Journal of Applied Ecology, 31, 631–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prakash, A., & Gupta, R. P. (1998). Land-use mapping and change detection in a coal mining area—a case study in the Jharia coalfield, India. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 19, 391–410. doi:10.1080/014311698214415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richter, R. (1998). Correction of satellite imagery over mountainous terrain. Applied Optics, 37, 4004–4015. doi:10.1364/AO.37.004004.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaab, G., Kraus, T., & Strunz, G. (2004). GIS and remote sensing activities as an integrating link within the BIOTA-East Africa Project. In Sustainable use and conservation of biological diversity: A challenge for society. Proceedings of the international symposium, 1–4 December 2003, Berlin (pp. 161–168).

  • Sheil, D. (1997). Long-term growth and rainfall in a Ugandan moist forest: Seasonal rhythms and flexing stems. Commonwealth Forestry Review, 76(2), 121–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, W., Spector, S., Gardiner, N., Fladeland, M., Sterling, E., & Steininger, M. (2003). Remote sensing for biodiversity science and conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18(6), 306–314. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00070-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UN-DESA (2007). World population prospects. The 2006 revision. New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Devision.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (2004). Global environmt outlook scenario framework. Backround paper for UNEP’s third global environment outlook report (GEO-3). Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velázquez, A., Durán, E., Ramírez, I., Mas, J. F., Bocco, G., Ramírez, G., et al. (2003). Land use-cover change processes in highly biodiverse areas: The case of Oaxaca, México. Global Environmental Change, 13, 175–184. doi:10.1016/S0959-3780(03)00035-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westman, W. E., Strong, L. L., & Wilcox, B. A. (1989). Tropical deforestation and species endangerment: The role of remote sensing. Landscape Ecology, 3(2), 97–109. doi:10.1007/BF00131173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, W., & Shao, G. (2002). Optimal combinations of data, classifiers, and sampling methods for accurate characterizations of deforestation. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing, 28(4), 601–609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, J. C., & Wilkes, A. (2004). Biodiversity impact analysis in northwest Yunnan, southwest China. Biodiversity and Conservation, 13(5), 959–983. doi:10.1023/B:BIOC.0000014464.80847.02.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Q. F., Justice, C. O., Jiang, M., Brunner, J., & Wilkie, D. S. (2006). A GIS-based assessment on the vulnerability and future extend of the tropical forests of the Congo Basin. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 114(1–3), 107–121. doi:10.1007/s10661-006-2015-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geomatics, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Tobias Lung & Gertrud Schaab

Authors
  1. Tobias Lung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gertrud Schaab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gertrud Schaab.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lung, T., Schaab, G. A comparative assessment of land cover dynamics of three protected forest areas in tropical eastern Africa. Environ Monit Assess 161, 531–548 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-0766-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-0766-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation