Analysis of historical land use land cover dynamics and the thermal environment in selected districts of the Hadiya Zone, central Ethiopian region, using geospatial techniques

Abstract

The dynamics of land use and land cover change significantly impact environmental, social, and economic systems. This study aims to analyze spatiotemporal land use dynamics and the thermal environment in selected districts of the Hadiya Zone, Central Ethiopia, via geospatial techniques. This study employs Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI/TIRS data, utilizing supervised classification with the maximum likelihood algorithm to analyze land use and land cover changes. The study classifies LULC into forest land, grassland, cultivated land, bare land, built-up areas, and water bodies. The findings reveal substantial increases in built-up areas (from 28.2 km² to 82.8 km²) and cultivated land (from 571.5 km² to 1055.8 km²), alongside dramatic reductions in forest cover (from 115.8 km² to 22.9 km²) and wetlands. NDVI analysis revealed a notable decline in vegetation health, with maximum NDVI values decreasing from 0.68 to 0.41 and the mean LST increasing by 7.7 °C over the study period. This study emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable land management and conservation strategies to address the adverse impacts of LULC changes. The study recommends that policies be adopted to harmonize urban and agricultural development with ecological conservation, that efforts be made to restore degraded lands, and that targeted measures be implemented to enhance vegetation health.