Identification and Mapping of Land Use Land Cover Variations Using Time-Series Landsat Data in MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area

Since the 1990s, MBOMIPA has experienced changes in land use. In this study, Landsat data were used to assess land use and land cover changes from 1997 to 2021. The processing of satellite images and evaluation of variations in land use and land cover was done using ArcGIS and ERDAS. The supervised land use classification was created using a maximum likelihood method. The findings of this study assessed the area of closed forests declined by about 186.04 ha over a period of 24 years (1997–2021), with a 14.8% annual rate of change, and 327.08 ha of open woodlands had undergone a 15.88% annual rate of change to other land use land cover types. All these conversions of woodlands were highly detected to be converted to shrubland, grassland, and bare land. With Kappa values of 0.90, 0.90, 0.83, and 0.93 for 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2021, respectively, the total supervised classification accuracy was found to be 91% for 1997, 91% for 2002, 86% for 2007, and 97% for 2021. The findings of this study will be valuable in assisting to plan and carry out of significant management strategies in order to safeguard the MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area's rich biodiversity.