Urban forest change detection in Endayesus area, Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Urban forests are one of the crucial ecosystems for sustainability, by which they provide carbon sequestration, microclimate regulation, recreation and other ecosystem services. Despite the profound benefits obtained, anthropogenic disturbances are hindering its development. On the other hand, to ensure the livability of urban areas, communities and governments have been putting efforts in managing urban forests. Although, a huge amount of labor is invested in enhancing the urban vegetation cover of Endayesus area, it is not clear to what extent it succeeded or failed over years. Based on that, this paper aimed to detect forest cover change and contribution of forestry practices in enhancing forest cover of Endayesus urban forest area. Aerial photos were obtained from Ethiopian mapping agency and planning office of Mekele city. Other data were collected from randomly selected 196 sample households and purposively selected 20 officials using questionnaire and interview checklists. SPSS and GIS software were used for analysis and generating figurative and spatial outputs. Analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics. The study confirmed forest cover in Endayesus increased by 1387.43% from 1965 to 2009. However, the existence of bare and bushland use types exist substantially. Enclosing the catchment, plantations, public education and tree management activities contributed in improving forest cover of the area. There should have to be a land cover/use plan prepared in a way to maximize the benefits of urban forests within the area based on established multiple criteria. In addition, further research is needed in modeling the possible damage to Mekele city under vegetated and non-vegetated scenarios of Endayesus area in different climatic conditions.