Little information is available on spatial and temporal extent of land cover change and the likely points of pressure that cause the change. It is important that appropriate tools and approaches like Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems GIS are used to make information available for decision making and planning [6].
There is an enormous benefit gained by monitoring land cover changes as it provides information regarding areas that have little or no access as well as enable more efficient and cost effective land cover mapping [7]. The main goal of this study was to determine the likely locations of the drivers of land cover change in the area of study by identifying the changes occurring in different land cover types and the human activities causing those changes. It lies between It forms part of the larger Mau Forests Complex that is the largest closed- canopy montane forest ecosystem in East Africa.
It can be classified as an equatorial forest based on its location but it is taken as montane forest because of the altitude. The Mau complex has an altitude range of between 1,m and 3,m above sea level [8]. It has 22 forest blocks and covers approximately , ha with the Eastern Mau covering a spatial area of about 65, ha [9].
International Letters of Natural Sciences Vol. Location of Eastern Mau Forest The area is mainly composed of quaternary and tertiary volcanic deposits [11]. The quaternary deposits include pyroclastics and sediments. Tertiary deposits include black ashes and welded tuffs [12].
It has both temperate and equatorial climatic characteristics due to relatively high altitudes and proximity to the equator. Data and Methods 3. Data The data used in this study were of primary and secondary data types where primary data were on land cover types and forest resource use.
Primary data on land cover types were collected for land cover validation of the preliminary satellite image interpretation. Forest resource use data were collected from 32 stakeholder interviews on the basis of forest resource use activities for identification of drivers of land cover change. The 32 stakeholders were identified from different households within 5km buffer area around the gazetted forest boundary.
Secondary data were acquired from already existing datasets covering the area of study and relevant to the study. The Landsat data were selected on the basis of amount of cloudy cover and season of the year. The selected images were those with less than 10 per cent cloudy cover, within January-February season and close to 10 year time interval between them.
These images were used to generate land cover types and land cover change information. Table 1. Kenya forest boundaries data was for Eastern Mau Forest boundary delimitation and reconciling the observed forest boundaries with the legal forest boundaries.
Kenya population data of , and was used for identification of human-forest interactions. The , topographic maps of Keringeti, Njoro, Olenguruone, Mau Narok and Ol Doinyo Opuru were used for Eastern Mau Forest location while the sub-location and county boundary shapefiles were for administrative units identification.
Kenya rivers shapefile and the settlement shapefile were selected on the basis of spatial representation of Eastern Mau. Methods Landsat images were identified based on a predefined grid composed of array of paths and rows. Eastern Mau Forest is covered by path and row 60 of the Landsat grid Fig.
Landsat images were assessed and screened for suitability in terms of cloud free, seasonality and time interval between and The downloaded images were of January , January , February and January Figure 2.
Landsat grid covering Eastern Mau Forest The downloaded images were radiometrically and geometrically corrected before they were processed. Radiometric correction was done to remove the distortions that occur when electromagnetic radiations interact with atmospheric materials. This correction was carried out in ENVI 5. Geometric correction was carried out to remove the shift that appears between images as a result of different sensor flight heights for images of the same place captured at different times.
This correction was done through image geo-rectification using ArcGIS Six distinct features were identified on all images and their corresponding positions on the ground located. The geographic coordinates of the six points were recorded using a handheld GPS unit at the exact ground positions. The recorded coordinates were used in the geo-rectification process. The corrected images were processed using ArcGIS To be able to clearly distinguish different land cover types different image bands were combined to give colour composite images and then clipped based on Eastern Mau Forest boundary Figs.
The combined image bands were green, red and near infra-red bands giving colour infra-red composite image for vegetation analysis.
This methodology is relatively new as compared to pixel based image classification [13]. Field validation was carried out and points of different land cover types visited. Random points were generated on the satellite imagery within the forest boundary Fig. The corresponding ground points were navigated to for observation and identification of different land cover types and the competing uses. Relevant stakeholders were interviewed to get additional information on the competing land uses.
Observed land cover types were used to validate and make changes where necessary on the classes interpreted from satellite images Fig. The overall accuracy of the classified images was The Kappa index of agreement of the classified images was 1 for , 0.
Figure 7. Field points overlaid on Landsat image Figure 8. Results and Discussion 4. Accuracy Assessment Results Accuracy assessment was carried out to determine how accurate land cover classification from the satellite images was done. This was important in determining the level to which the classification agrees with the reality on the ground.
This was achieved by getting field validated data and comparing it to the preliminary interpretation data using an error matrix that compared land cover classes on category by category basis.
Four different statistics categories were computed based on the error matrix in the accuracy assessment that was carried out. The other two were overall accuracy and Kappa index of agreement Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5. Overall accuracy gave the average accuracy obtained in the image interpretation and classification.
For example- tropical rainforests receive heavy rainfall every year, whereas temperate forests experience four seasonal variations. A forest ecosystem may be deciduous or evergreen, or it may be a mix of both. The trees of a deciduous forest shed the leaves during the winter season, whereas evergreen trees always remain green. The canopy layer is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of a forest ecosystem.
The dense canopy layers act as a barrier against wind, rain, snow, etc. Some forest ecosystems, such as rainforests , are characterized by distinct layers of the canopy like treetops, upper canopy layer, lower canopy layer, and forest floor. The forest ecosystem provides the most favorable conditions to various species of birds. As a result, these species get attracted by the forest ecosystem and take shelter on trees.
The forest ecosystem is home to a huge variety of insects. These insects found thousands of options as their shelter in the forest ecosystem. Hence, these insects get attracted to the natural habitats provided by the forest ecosystem. The soil of forest ecosystems varies in terms of fertility. For example- the soil of temperate and tropical deciduous forests is very fertile enriched with nutrients. On the other hand, the soil of boreal forests is mostly acidic due to the falling of conifer needles on the forest floor.
In the case of tropical rainforests, the soil is impoverished in terms of fertility due to continuous leaching on nutrients caused by heavy rainfall. Forests are the natural treasure of mother Earth was given to us. It is high time to recall the importance of forest ecosystems towards the environment.
Also remember, how you can help to protect the forest ecosystem to save millions of plant and animal species. Your email address will not be published. Forest Ecosystem — An Overview A forest ecosystem is a unique ecology, including a very nice community of flora and fauna. All about forest ecosystem in details You can go through this article to know more about such an incredible ecosystem i.
One of the peculiar features of this forest is that you can see freshwater source. We can normally can see these in the lower reaches of rivers and lakes. This kind of forest survives in all climate zones from tropical to boreal. Animals like fish, shrimp, frogs, turtles, and birds all live in this habitat.
Freshwater Swamp Forest is also a place to grow many flowering plants with small blooms. These include mosses. Montane moist temperate forests grow in tropical climate conditions. Trees grown in montane moist temperate forest are adapted to low temperature and high radiation levels as their elevation is comparatively high than other kinds of forests. Also, the trees of montane moist temperate forest have wide spread trees with twiggy branches and leaves of different colours. Small plants like ferns and lichens grow well in this type of forest.
Apart from moist and wet climate conditions, there are forests in mountains that survive in dry climate. One such name of forests in the world is the montane dry temperate forest.
Animals, birds and plants that live in this ecosystem adapts to this harsh climate. Moreover, chances of finding source of water in this forest will be very less. The temperature will be warm throughout the year except for in monsoon season. Littoral and swamp forests might sound unfamiliar but actually, it is a wetland forest. In simple terms, littoral zone is a part of a lake, sea or river that is close to the shore. The beach forests where the temperature will be moderate , tidal forests also known as mangrove forests and fresh water swamp forests are the other classification of the littoral forest.
Forests can help balance the ecological system of the earth. Every tree that is grown in these forest types has their own unique medicinal value. In this modern era, there has been several threats to forests and wildlife associated with it. Learning to preserve them and save them for our future is the best thing we can do today.
Bhauvana, like any typical Indian woman, has deep interest on various topics. Your email address will not be published. Millets are small seeded grasses which have been cultivated in South India for many years. A fan of Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova? Popularly known as the Human Barbie, she is a celebrity Connect with us. Classifications of Forest: Classification of forest in the world is done based on the leafing strategy, seasonality, climatic conditions, geographical location and economic strategy.
Climate: On the basis of climate, forests are classified into temperate forests, boreal forests, tropical forests, subtropical forests, rain forest, monsoon forests and dry forests.
Seasonality: Based on seasonality, forests are divided into deciduous and evergreen forests. Geographically: Forests based on geographical location can be classified into Northern and Southern forests. Leafing: This includes broad-leaved forests, needle-leaved forests, conifer forests, hardwood and softwoods. Different Types of Forests with Their Names and Pictures: Here is the list of top 14 different types of forests in the world with their names and pictures.
Moist Deciduous Forest: Deciduous forests are one of the names of forests in India. Dry Deciduous Forest: Another name in the list of different kinds of forests is the tropical dry deciduous forest. Wet Evergreen Forest: Among the list of names of forests in the world comes the wet evergreen forest.
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