Document Repository and Sectoral Scope Summary

Abstract

Rapid population growth and increasing economic activities have resulted in unsustainable exploitation and rapid decline in the spatial extent of forest reserves in Nigeria. Studying land use dynamics of surrounding forest is essential for analyzing various ecological and developmental consequences over time. This paper aims at assessing changes in land use/land cover of selected surrounding airport forest in Nigeria using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The study determined the dynamics of change in the spatial extent of surrounding airport forest between 1983 and 2023 using multi-temporal datasets (Landsat TM 5&7 2000 and OLI/TIRS 2015). The imageries were classified using ArcGIS 10.0 version with support of ground – truthing data and Land use matrices in analyzing the pattern and trend of change. The results of Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) of the study area showed that the study locations have been partially disturbed by anthropogenic activities such as logging, farming and encroachment particularly between 1983 – 2003. The corresponding vegetation loss are: Benin (from 64.49– 6.71km²); Ibadan (245.16 – 22.88km²); Lagos (316.05 – 292.23km²) while the exception was recorded in Akure (11.8 – 32.91km²) before the adoption of proper protection and prohibition such as fence for demarcation of airports boundaries. The results of this study concluded that the four airports surrounding forest assessed were haven for biological diversity particularly Ibadan and Benin surrounding forest, therefore conservation of tree species in the surrounding forests of airports is recommended.

Keywords: Land Use, Land Cover, Deforestation, Anthropogenic, GIS