Land Transformation of Tropical Forest Conservation of Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria from 1987–2014

Abstract

The study utilized Landsat imageries of 1987 (Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)), 2000 (Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+)) and 2014 (Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI)) to examine land transformation in the Gashaka-Gumti National Park. The analysis indicated that dense forest which occupied 367,500 hectares at 62.2% of the total area of the park in 1987 has been converted into farmland and built-up area. Thus, the dense forest has reduced to 343, 300 hectares by the year 2000 and 107, 600 hectares in 2014 respectively. The result shows that the riparian forest decreased from 21,300 hectares in 1987 at 3.6% to16, 000 hectares in 2000 at 2.7% and further to11, 000 hectares (1.8%) by 2014. Savannah vegetation found to be concentrated in the northern part of the study area and occupied a total area of 81,260 hectares at 13% in 1987, reduced to 62,100 hectares at 10.5% in 2000 and increased to 183,800 hectares at 31.1% of the total area in 2014. The built-up area occupied a total area of 4,476 hectares at 7.5% in 1987. The built-up increased to 11,070 hectares at 1.81% in 2000 but decreased to10.930 hectares at1.85% in 2014 as a result of the news that the insurgents were shifting their base towards the park to hide from security forces and some of the people living within the area became afraid and deserted their houses and resettled in the nearby towns and villages that are outside the park.