Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULC) in the Lake Malawi Drainage Basin, 1982-2005
- 1
- 2
- 3
International Journal of Geosciences·Volume 02 (2011)·Pages 172–178·Published 26 May 2011·DOI10.4236/ijg.2011.22018
Copy link · social · email
Abstract
Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in the drainage basin of Lake Malawi over the period 1982-2005 were estimated from satellite imagery, and possible relationships were evaluated among the four major land-cover classes: cropland, forest, water, and savanna/shrub/woodland. AVHRR and MODIS sensors gave different values of areal extent of the four classes, limiting the feasibility of establishing consistent temporal trends over the entire period of the study, but forest land showed the least change among three land cover types, and extent of water bodies remained virtually unaltered over the period. AVHRR results show that cropland was mainly derived from savanna/shrub/woodland, which declined by almost 90% over the period 1982-1995.
KeywordsAVHRRLake MalawiLake Surface TemperatureMODISReflectance
- Environmental Affairs Department, “National Environmental Action Plan,” Malawi Government, Lilongwe, 1994.
- H. A. Boostma and R. E. Hecky, “Conservation of the African Great Lakes: A Limnological Perspective,” Conservation Biology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1993, pp. 644-656. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07030644.x
- H. Bootsma and S.E. Jorgensen, “Lake Malawi/Nyasa,” 2004. http://www.worldlakes.org/uploads/ELLB%20Malawi-NyasaDraftFinal.14Nov2004.pdf
- F. X. Mkanda, “Contribution by Farmer’s Survival Strategies to Soil Erosion Strategies in the Linthipe River Catchment: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation in Lake Malawi/Nyasa,” Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 11, No. 8, 2002, pp. 1327-1359. doi:10.1023/A:1016265715267
- O. N. Shela, “Naturalization of Lake Malawi Levels and Shire River Flows: Challenges of Water Resources Research and Sustainable Utilization on the Lake Malawi – Shire River System,” Water Net Symposium: Sustainable Use of Water Resources, Maputo, 1-2 November 2000, pp. 1-12.
- I. R. Calder, R. L. Hall, H. G. Bastable, H. M. Gunston, O. Shela, A. Chirwa and R. Kafundu, “The Impact of Land Use Change on Water Resources in the Sub-Saha- ran Africa: A Modeling Study of Lake Malawi,” Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 170, No. 1-4, 1995, pp. 123-135. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(94)02679-6
- S. S. Chiotha, G. M. S. Chavula, S. Chikwembani, E. B. Khonga and E. Y. Sambo, “National Disaster Management Plans for Malawi,” Rept. to Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation Affairs, Lilongwe, 1997.
- J. Sakulich, “Procedures and Considerations for Conducting Digital Change Detection,” 2002. http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/b/jbs191/steps.htm, University Park, Pennsylvania.
- P. Coppin, I. Jonckheere, K. Nakaerts, B. Muys and E. Lambin, “Digital Change Detection Methods in Ecosystem Monitoring: A Review,” International Journal of Re- mote Sensing, Vol. 25, 2004, pp. 1565-1596. doi:10.1080/0143116031000101675
- P. L. Coppin and M. Bauer, “Change Detection in Forest Ecosystems with Remote Sensing Digital Imagery,” Remote Sensing Reviews, Vol. 13, No. 3-4, 1996, pp. 207- 234.
- J. R. Jensen, “Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective,” Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, 1996.
- A. Huete, C. Justice and W. Leeuwen, “MODIS Vegetation Index (MOD 13). Algorithm Theoretical Basis Do- cument Version 3,” NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, 1999.