Analysis of land use/cover dynamics in Jimma city, Southwest Ethiopia an application of satellite remote sensing

Abstract

Understanding changes in land use/cover provides essential information that cansupport informed decision making towards environmental sustainability. The objectiveof this study was to map and assess the dynamics of major land use/cover (LULC)types, and quantify magnitude and spatial patterns of the LULC changes thatenvironments in and around Jimma city have undergone between the years 1984 and2007. Satellite images of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) of year 1984 and SPOT imageof year 2007 were used in this study. All images were processed using ERDASIMAGINE v9.3 image processing software. Change analysis was undertaken byapplying post-classification change detection procedures. Accuracy of the imageclassification was assessed using error matrix, overall accuracy and kappa coefficient.The overall accuracy of up to 84% was achieved. Maximum Producer’s and User’saccuracies were, respectively, 97% and 100%, and Kappa statistic ranged between 0.77and 1.00. The change analysis result revealed that the LULC have shown both positiveand negative significant changes. Built-up, settlement, plantation forest and cultivatedland were the top LULC that experienced positive change; whereas natural vegetation,water body and wetlands have substantially declined. An important implication of theobserved changes is that rapid urban expansion, compounded by poor urban planningis leading to enormous losses of key ecosystems such as wetlands and naturalvegetation. The consequence of this rapid ecological degradation could potentiallyimpact ecological functioning and environmental sustainability in and around Jimmacity. Therefore, critical system thinking is required to address these complex problemsin the study area and areas of rapid urbanization elsewhere in the country.