Land Use, Land Cover Changes and Their Driving Force in Wombera District, Benshangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Land use Land cover (LULCC) were analyzed for wombera district along agro-ecological gradients (lower, middle & higher) using a Satellite image of Landsat Mass, Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, and Landsat OLI/TIRS of 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2016 respectively. After reconnaissance survey and field observations 402 individuals were selected. They were categorized into 6 groups of Key informants interview (KII) and 12 groups Focus Group Discussion (FGD) for structural and open ended questions. One hundred thirty two GPS data were collected using handheld GPS Garmin Global Positioning System for confirmations of accuracy assessment. Five direct and seven indirect driving forces of LULCC were identified for each corresponding agro-ecology gradients for each year. ERDAS version 15, excel, and ArcGIS 10.3.1 used for satellite image calibration and analysis. Maps of Forest, woodland, scrubland, grassland, farmland, water body, and settlement were created. The finding reveals that croplands, settlements, and grasslands are increasing. However, woodland and forest are decreasing from 1973 and 2016. Among the indirect driving forces, Socio-cultural practice and demographics imposed a higher impact in 1970; conversely, institutional setup and technological advancements contribute the highest effect in 2000 &2016. Among the direct or proximate causes, farming activity and fire contribute the highest impact in 1970 in the lower and middle altitude. Farming activities and logging had the highest impact on the higher altitudes during 1970s