Earth, Energy & Environment

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Assessing Change in EL-Rawashda Forest Using Landsat and Field Data, Eastern Sudan (1988-2018)

Volume: 32  ,  Issue: 1 , July    Published Date: 19 July 2019
Publisher Name: IJRP
Views: 1147  ,  Download: 589

Authors

# Author Name
1 Mohammed Ishag Arbab
2 Mahgoub Suliman Mohamedain
3 Abdelaziz Karamalla Gaiballa
4 Mohammed Abdelmanan Hassan
5 Sabit Ersahin

Abstract

Assessing and monitoring forest cover change researches are useful in providing information necessary to ‎support policies and decisions to conserve, protect ‎and manage the forest on a sustainable basis. This research ‎deals with ‎assessing the past and a recent change in EL-Rawashda Forest using multi-temporal Landsat ‎images for the years 1988, 1998, 2007 and ‎‎2018 and field verification data. In addition to that linear ‎Regression Trend (Slope) analysis that simulates the spatial trends of vegetation cover has been calculated ‎from NDVI results to reflect the changes. The ‎results showed that there was a significant change in EL-‎Rawashda Forest cover over the past 30 years. ‎Moreover, the study found that the increment of ‎agricultural activities inside EL-Rawashda Forest through the toungya agroforestry system was one of the ‎main causes of forest trees clearance. Furthermore, the results of the Slope analysis revealed that change ‎in the forest cover was accounted ‎for 56% of the total area, with almost 3.11% rate of deterioration. ‎These results emphasized that the forest cover change has impacts ‎ on the climate change and forest ‎ecosystem. Therefore, the study results were useful in providing necessary inputs to refine ‎policies and ‎decisions for management and improvement of forests in the area.‎

Keywords

  • climate change
  • Forest cover
  • Satellite images
  • Linear Trend
  • NDVI