ANALYSIS OF LANDUSE/COVER CHANGE IN OMOTOSHO FOREST RESERVE, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

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Date
2022
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DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY.
Abstract
This study identified land use/cover in Omotosho Forest Reserve, Ondo State, Nigeria, and analysed changing pattern of land use/cover in the forest reserve. It also measured the extent of forest loss to different land uses, and examined the drivers of land use change in the forest reserve. These are with the view to determining the extent of forest degradation in the forest reserve. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and used primary and secondary datasets. The primary data included the coordinates of selected features (settlements, rivers and rocks) in the forest reserve, and these were obtained using a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS). They also included the responses of 36 Key Informants (six purposively selected adults (aged > 30 years) persons from six settlements around forest reserve). The secondary data were Landsat ETM+ 2000, Landsat OLI 2010, Sentinel 2015 and Sentinel 2020 satellite images of the study area. The satellite imageries were first processed and georeferenced using the coordinate values of the selected features, before they were analysed using remote sensing and Geographical Information Science procedures in ArcGIS (10.4 version). Derived values from the analysis were analysed using frequency and percentage distribution techniques. Responses of the key informants were analysed using content analysis. The results showed that the identified dominant land use/cover in the study area were dense forest (29,727 ha), shrubs (14,348 ha), farmland (13,462 ha), settlements (8,252 ha), open spaces (3,014 ha) and water bodies (699 ha). Results also showed that while farmland increased in area cover between the period of study (from 9,247 ha – 13,462 ha), areas covered by settlements also increased (from 4,718 ha – 8,252 ha), open spaces increased in area covered from (984 ha – 3,014 ha) and scrubs increased from 10,108 ha – 14,348 ha), amount of
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214p
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Citation
ADEFUNRIN S.S (2022)ANALYSIS OF LANDUSE/COVER CHANGE IN OMOTOSHO FOREST RESERVE, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY.