Monitoring Land Cover Change Using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS): A Case of Golden Pride and Geita Gold Mines, Tanzania — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Monitoring Land Cover Change Using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS): A Case of Golden Pride and Geita Gold Mines, Tanzania
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
,
Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
,
Department of Botany, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
1 Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2 Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
3 Department of Botany, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
This study monitored land cover change in the mining sites of Golden Pride Gold Mine (GPGM) and Geita Gold Mine (GGM), Tanzania. The satellite data for land cover classification for the years 1997, 2010 and 2017 were obtained from the United States Geologic Survey Departments (USGS) online database and were analyzed using Arc GIS 10 software. Supervised classification composed of seven classes namely forest, bushland, agriculture, water, bare soil, urban area and grassland, was designed for this study, in order to classify Landsat images into thematic maps. In addition, future land cover changes for the year 2027 were simulated using a Cellular Automata (CA) - Markov model after validating the model using the Land Cover for the year 2017. The results from the LULC analysis showed that f orest was the most dominant land cover type in 1997 at GPGM and GGM covering 510 ha (52.1%) and 9833 ha (49.7%) respectively. In 2017 , the forest area decreased and the bushland replaced forest to be the most dominant land cover type covering 219 ha (22.4%) for GPGM and 8878 ha (44.9%) for GGM. Based on the CA-Markov model, a predicted land cover map for 2027 was dominated by forest covering 340 ha (34.7%) and 8639 ha (43.7%) for GPGM and GGM respectively. An overall accuracy and kappa coefficient for GPGM were 74.7% and 70.2% respectively and for GGM were 71.4% and 66.1% respectively. Thus, land cover changes resulting from mining activities involve reduction of forest land hence endangers biodiversity. GIS and remote sensing technologies are potential to detect the trend of changes and predict future land cover. The findings are crucial as it provide s basis for land use planning and intensifies monitoring programs in the mining areas of Tanza nia.
Nzunda, H.P. (2013) Impact of Mining Activities on Land Cover and Forest Stock in Mbozi District, Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Masters Dissertation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro.
Sonter, L.J., Moran, C.J., Barrett, D.J. and Soares-Filho, B.S. (2014) Processes of Land Use Change in Mining Regions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, 494-501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.03.084
Atayi, J., Kabo-bah, A.T. and Akpoti, K. (2016) The Effects of Large-Scale Mining on Land Use and Land Cover Changes Using Remotely Sensed Data. International Journal of Science and Nature, 7, 724-733.
Avalos, A., Vilchez, F.F., Oyolsi, N. and Flores, S.M.L.M. (2018) Analysis of the Land Use and Cover Changes in the Metropolitan Area of Tepic-Xalisco (1973-2015) through Landsat Images. Sustainability, 10, 1860. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061860
Garai, D. and Allu, N.C. (2018) Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Mining Area of Godavari Coal Fields of Southern India. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 21, 375-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrs.2018.01.002
Marina, R., Rujoiu, M. and Bogdan, M.A. (2016) Mapping Land Cover Using Remote Sensing Data and GIS Techniques: A Case Study of Prahova Subcarpathians. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 32, 244-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2016.03.029
Mi, J., et al. (2019) Tracking the Land Use/Land Cover Change in an Area with Underground Mining and Reforestation via Continuous Landsat Classification. Remote Sensing, 11, 17-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11141719
Tagoe, N.D. and Mantey, S. (2017) Mapping the Effects of Anthropogenic Activities in the Catchment of Weija Reservoir Using Remote Sensing Techniques. GJM, 17, 6-11.
Borthwick, R.R. and Wang, Y. (2015) Bird Species’ Responses to Post Mine Reclamation in Alabama—A Preliminary Analysis. JASMR, 4, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.21000/JASMR15020001
Rwanga, S.S. and Ndambuki, J.M. (2017) Accuracy Assessment of Land Use/Land Cover Classification Using Remote Sensing and GIS. International Journal of Geosciences, 8, 611-622. https://doi.org/10.4236/ijg.2017.84033
Awotwi, A., Anornu, G.K., Quaye-Ballard, J.A. and Annor, T. (2018) Monitoring Land Use and Land Cover Changes Due to Extensive Gold Mining, Urban Expansion, and Agriculture in the Pra River Basin of Ghana, 1986-2025. Land Degradation and Development, 29, 3331-3343. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3093
Rawat, J.S. (2015) Monitoring Land Use/Cover Change Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques: A Case Study of Hawalbagh Block, District Almora, Uttarakhand, India. Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 18, 77-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrs.2015.02.002
Soffianian, A. and Madanian, M. (2015) Monitoring Land Cover Changes in Isfahan Province, Iran Using Landsat Satellite Data. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187, Article No. 543. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4442-5
Ahmed, B., Ahmed, R. and Zhu, X. (2013) Evaluation of Model Validation Techniques in Land Cover Dynamics. ISPRS International Journal of Geoinformatics, 2, 577-597. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2030577
Ghosh, S., et al. (2017) Application of Cellular Automata and Markov-Chain Model in Geospatial Environmental Modeling—A Review. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 5, 64-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2017.01.005
Perpetual, P. (2015) Assessing Land Cover Change Resulting from Surface Mining Development (A Case Study of Prestea and Its Environs in the Western Region of Ghana). Master’s Thesis, Geomatics Engineering, Ghana.
Fitawok, M.B., Derudder, B., Minale, A.S., Van Passel, S., Adgo, E. and Nyssen, J. (2020) Modeling the Impact of Urbanization on Land-Use Change in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia: An Integrated Cellular Automata-Markov Chain Approach. Land, 9, 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9040115
Urban, D.L. and Wallin, D.O. (2017) Introduction to Markov Models. In: Learning Landscape Ecology, Springer, New York, 129-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6374-4_8
Aneesha, S.B. and Pratap, D. (2020) Future Land Use Land Cover Scenario Simulation Using Open Source GIS for the City of Warangal, Telangana, India. Applied Geomatics.
Chen, L.P., Sun, Y.J. and Saeed, S. (2015) Monitoring and Predicting Land Use and Land Cover Changes Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques—A Case Study of a Hilly Area, Jiangle, China. PLoS ONE, 13, e0200493. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200493
Basommi, P.L., Guan, Q. and Cheng, D. (2025) Exploring Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Mining Areas of Wa East District, Ghana Using Satellite Imagery. Open Geosciences, 7, 618-626. https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2015-0058
Sikdar, P., Chakraborty, S., Adhya, E. and Paul, P.K. (2004) Land Use/Land Cover Changes and Groundwater Potential Zoning in and around Raniganj Coal Mining Area, Bardhaman District, West Bengal—A GIS and Remote Sensing Approach. Journal of Spatial Hydrology, 4, 1-24.
Schueler, V., Kuemmerle, T. and chröder, H.S. (2011) Impacts of Surface Gold Mining on Land Use Systems in Western Ghana. Ambio, 40, 528-539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-011-0141-9
Emel, J., Plisinski, J. and Rogan, J. (2014) Monitoring Geomorphic and Hydrologic Change at Mine Sites Using Satellite Imagery: The Geita Gold Mine in Tanzania. Applied Geography, 54, 243-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.07.009
Henckel, J., Poulsen, K.H., Sharp, T. and Spora, P. (2016) Lake Victoria Goldfields. Episodes, 39, 135-154. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2016/v39i2/95772
Werema, C., Howell, K.M., Msuya, C.A. and Macha, A. (2016) Birds of Golden Pride Project Area, Nzega District, Central Tanzania: An Evaluation of Recolonization of Rehabilitated Areas. Scopus, 36, 26-36.
Rizk, I. and Rashed, M. (2015) Monitoring Urban Growth and Land Use Change Detection with GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques in Daqahlia Governorate Egypt. International Journal of Sustainability Built Environment, 4, 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2015.02.005
Haque, M.I. and Basak, R. (2017) Land Cover Change Detection Using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques: A Spatio-Temporal Study on Tanguar Haor, Sunamganj, Bangladesh. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 20, 251-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrs.2016.12.003
Viera, A.J. and Garrett, J.M. (2005) Understanding Interobserver Agreement: The Kappa Statistic. Family Medicine, 37, 360-363.
Pallangyo, D. (2005) Environmental Impact Assessment for Mining Activities in Tanzania: Legal Analysis. Masters Dissertation in the Faculty of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermartzburg.
Stephen, D.C., Ayensu-ntim, G., Twumasi-ankrah, A.B. and Barimah, P.T. (2015) Effects of Loss of Agricultural Land Due to Large-Scale Gold Mining on Agriculture in Ghana: The Case of the Western Region. British Journal of Research, 2, 196-221.
Adesipo, A.A., Akinbiola, S., Awotoye, O.O., Salami, A.T. and Freese, D. (2020) Impact of Mining on the Floristic Association of Gold Mined Sites in Southwest Nigeria. BMC Ecology, 20, Article No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-020-00276-9
Erener, A., Düzgün, S. and Cevdet, A. (2012) Evaluating Land Use/Cover Change with Temporal Satellite Data and Information Systems. Procedia Technology, 1, 385-389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2012.02.079
Sinclaire, J. (2016) Status of Environment, Golden Pride Project in Isanga Village, Lusu Ward, Nzega District, Tabora Region. Resolute Tanzania Limited.
Mrisho, P.D. (2005) Environmental Impact Assessment for Mining Activities in Tanzania: Legal Analysis. Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Academic Requirements for the Degree of Master of Law in the Faculty of Law, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
Monserud and Leemans, R. (1992) Comparing Global Vegetation Maps with the Kappa Statistic. Ecological Modelling, 62, 275-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3800(92)90003-W
Abubaker, H., Mohamed, A. and Abdelrahim, S. (2013) Accuracy Assessment of Land Use & Land Cover Classification (LU/LC) “Case Study of Shomadi Area-Renk County-Upper Nile State, South Sudan”. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publication, 3, 1-2250.
Tilahun, A. and Teferie, B. (2015) Accuracy Assessment of Land Use Land Cover Classification Using Google Earth. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 4, 193-198. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150404.14
Butt, A., Shabbir, R.S., Ahmad, S. and Aziz, N. (2015) Land Use Change Mapping and Analysis Using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case Study of Simly Watershed, Islamabad, Pakistan. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 18, 251-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrs.2015.07.003