کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
83822 | 158742 | 2009 | 12 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
![عکس صفحه اول مقاله: Monitoring 25 years of land cover change dynamics in Africa: A sample based remote sensing approach Monitoring 25 years of land cover change dynamics in Africa: A sample based remote sensing approach](/preview/png/83822.png)
The study examines the changes in sub-Saharan's natural land cover resources for a 25 year period. We assess these changes in four broad land cover classes – forests, natural non-forest vegetation, agriculture and barren – by using high spatial resolution Earth observing satellites. Two sets of sample images, one ‘historical’ targeted at 1975 and a second ‘recent’ targeted at the year 2000, have been selected through a stratified random sampling technique over the study area, targeting a sampling rate of 1% in each of the strata. The results, presented at eco-region level and aggregated at sub-Saharan level, show a 57% increase in agriculture area at the expense of natural vegetation which has itself decreased by 21% over the period, with nearly 5 million hectares forest and non-forest natural vegetation lost per year. The impacts of these changes on the environment on one site and on the socio-economy on the other site are discussed and possible pressures on human well being are highlighted.
Journal: Applied Geography - Volume 29, Issue 4, December 2009, Pages 501–512