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Title
Analysis of spatio-temporal dynamics of land use and cover changes in Western Kenya
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008:
Author(s)
Publication Date
2021
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008
Early Online Version
Abstract
The western region of Kenya is experiencing remarkable land changes resulting from population growth and related impacts. The study used remote sensing and GIS techniques to analyze the land use/cover changes in the years 1995, 2001, 2010 and 2017. Multi-spectral Landsat (TM, ETM + and OLI) images were pre-processed and classified using maximum likelihood algorithm in ENVI version 5.4. The overall classification accuracies in all the images were more than 80%. The results revealed major conversions of each land use/land cover type in varying trends and magnitudes. Between 1995 and 2001, there was an increase in built-up areas by 71%, forest cover by 43%, farms by 5%; and decrease in grassland by 47%. By 2017, the built-up areas had increased by 225% and farms by 17%; the forestland, grassland and water reduced by 38, 10 and 11%, respectively. The observed changes are characterized by increased settlements and encroachment of sensitive ecosystems.
Publication Type
Journal Article
Source of Publication
Geocarto International, 36(4), p. 376-391
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020
2019-05-28
Place of Publication
United Kingdom
ISSN
1752-0762
1010-6049
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020
Peer Reviewed
Yes
HERDC Category Description
Peer Reviewed
Yes
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