| Popis: |
Land use and land cover (LULC) is among fundamental environmental and ecological factors for monitoring, resource management, police making, planning and facilitating the development of strategies to balance conservation, development pressures, and conflicting uses. This study aimed at analyzing LULC changes that have occurred during 1988–2018 and its prediction for 2040–2060 period in Coka watershed, southern Ethiopia. LULC changes were analyzed using geographic information system and predicted by CA-Markov model. Cultivated and rural settlement land, bare land, built up area and water body have increased at an annual rate of 23.1, 2.2, 0.8 and 1.1 ha/year but forest land, bushland and grassland have decreased at an annual rate of 14.4, 4.1 and 8.7 ha/year, respectively. It is projected that cultivated and rural settlement land, bare land, built up area and water body will expand but forest land, grassland and bushland will decrease. Expansion of agriculture and deforestation showed increasing trend on both previous and predicted LULC changes with upcoming expansion of bare land and eucalyptus tree plantation due to major driving factor of population growth. This study highlights the need for well integrated landscape planning, reliable predictions for future LULC and to reduce the deterioration of environment. |
