Land use change dynamics in the Mt. Kenya region - a remotely sensed analysis using RapidEye satellite images

摘要

In the context of land use changes in sub-Saharan Africa and especially deforestation due to agricultural intensification, this study aimed to characterize recent land use developments in eastern parts of the Mt. Kenya region. A remote sensing approach with high resolution RapidEye satellite images from 2010 and 2015 was conducted. The main research goals were to (1) clarify in how far RapidEye data can contribute to a land use change analysis in the small-scale farming-driven Mt. Kenya region; (2) detect general land use and land cover structures and changes between 2010 and 2015; (3) examine how far forest encroachment can be reduced with the arrangement of Nyayo Tea Zones. The results showed that it is possible to detect main land cover classes. Different limitations of the classification occurred due to heterogeneous characteristics of the land cover and the spatial and spectral mixture of different areas (e.g. agriculture and scrublands). The land use pattern can be described as a concentric arrangement of different types of land use around Mt. Kenya, including forest areas, tea plantations, other agricultural areas, scrubland and fallow and barren ground. Land use change detection between 2010 and 2015 showed a general increase in croplands. While single forest clusters are characterized by a massive decrease, forests in Mt. Kenya National Park are widely untouched by human activities. This can be linked to the creation of Nyayo Tea Zones, which passes into the protection of the natural forest areas.