Trends in forest cover change and degradation in Duguna Fango, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract Forest is one of the vital resources that determine the livelihood, environmental stability, and societal development. Duguna Fango is biologically diverse and deeply threatened in the region. The area has undergone extensive environmental changes since 1980s due to shifting cultivation, deforestation, urbanization, growing human population and drought. Thus, this research was conducted to investigate the status of forest change and degradation by using available satellite imageries at Duguna Fango Woreda. It was based on the corrected optical satellite data (Landsat 7 ETM of 2000, 2009, and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS of 2018); available from the Global Land Cover Facility acquired in the drier seasons of the years was used for forest cover change analysis. Besides, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) indicators like (NDVI minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation) were also computed for the year 2000, 2009 and 2018 to determine the density of vegetation. The results showed in the period between 2000 and 2018, built up and cultivated lands increased with a mean annual rate of 92.18‬ and 366.96 ha/year, respectively. Followed by the reduction in dense forest with the mean annual rate of −228.27 ha/year. The NDVI minimum value showed a slight reduction from −0.09 in the year 2009 to −0.11 in the year 2018. The mean values are also decreased from 0.29 in 2009 to 0.16 in 2018. As indicated in the result of NDVI value, despite there is restoration, vegetation cover in general was reduced and the forests in particular were depleted from time to time.