From Land Cover to Landscape Structure: Change and Fragmentation Analysis in Korup National Park, Cameroon

Abstract

Can the designation of protected area status in a human inhabited ecosystem limit anthropogenic activities within the boundaries of the protected area? To attempt an answer to this question, we used the Central zone of Korup National Park, Cameroon as an example. Comparing two satellite imageries (1986 and 2000), it was possible to assess land cover transformations, and with the FRAGSTATS software it was possible to quantify the changes of landscape characteristics in the area fourteen years after the creation of the park in 1986. The results reyealed an increase in exposed surfaces (15.61%), which came at the expense of forest-land-cover (-12.69%) and water bodies (-2.92%). Meanwhile, landscape metrics demonstrated significant changes including, an increase in the number and size of patch, diversity and fragmentation. Overall, structural metrics for landscape indicated that anthropogenic activities still continue within the boundaries of the park. The results confirm the effectiveness of the combined method of remote sensing and metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]