Assesment of Vegetation Cover Status in Dry Lands of The Sudan Using Social and Terrestrial Data

Abstract

The current study was conducted in 2015 in Bara Locality, North Kordofan, Sudan. The study area has experienced recurrent drought spells since 1970s of the past century. The main objective of this study was to assess and map the vegetation cover in the area using social, terrestrial and remotely sensed data. To accomplish the above mentioned objective, the study was based on qualitative and quantitative data. In qualitative data, household survey was conducted in which 100 respondents were randomly interviewed. Quantitative data was collected using terrestrial inventory and satellite imageries. In terrestrial inventory, 22 ground control points (GCPs) were randomly registered using GPS in order to get general overview of the land cover of the study area. In each GCP, tree species by number was inventoried within an area of 1 ha. Remote sensing data, covering the target study area, were acquainted using LANDSAT5 imageries (2014) with spatial resolution of 30×30 m. Results of the household survey revealed that only 13 shrub/tree species mentioned by 45% of the respondents, while only 9 woody species were identified, belonging to 8 families from terrestrial inventory. The results of the household survey, 45% of the respondents, indicated that vegetation cover was very good 20 years ago. The study categorized the present land cover as woody vegetation (19%), Acacia senegal stands (5%), shrubs i.e. Leptadenia pyrotechnica and Acacia nubica (18%), small scale farms and grasses (19%) and sandy soil and dunes (39%). The results of the land cover distribution indicated that vegetation cover decreased by 24% while sand/sand dunes was increased by 21% from 1985 to 2015. The study concluded that the study area is under threat of land degradation that may lead to depletion of vegetation cover and decline land productivity.Keywords: Acacia senegal, land cover, remote sensing, sand dune, Sudan. IntisariPenelitian ini dilakukan pada tahun 2015 di Lokalitas Bara, Kordofan Utara, Sudan. Lokasi penelitian telah mengalami masa kekeringan yang berulang sejak dekade 1970-an. Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menilai dan memetakan tutupan vegetasi di lokasi penelitian dengan menggunakan data sosial, terestrial, dan penginderaan jauh. Untuk mencapai tujuan dimaksud, penelitian ini menggunakan data kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Untuk data kualitatif, survei rumah tangga dengan wawancara terhadap 100 responden yang dipilih secara acak. Data kuantitatif dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan inventarisasi terestrial dan satelit citra. Untuk inventarisasi terestrial, 22 titik kontrol (GCP) didaftar secara acak dengan menggunakan GPS untuk mendapatkan gambaran umum dari tutupan lahan daerah penelitian. Pada setiap GCP, jumlah spesies pohon diinventarisasi dalam area 1 ha. Data penginderaan jauh yang mencakup wilayah studi diambil dengan citra LANDSAT5 (2014) dengan resolusi spasial 30 × 30 m. Hasil survei rumah tangga menunjukkan bahwa hanya 13 jenis semak/pohon yang disebutkan oleh 45% responden, sementara hanya 9 spesies kayu yang terindentifikasi, milik 8 keluarga dari inventarisasi terestrial. Berdasarkan hasil survei rumah tangga, 45% dari responden menyatakan bahwa tutupan vegetasi yang sangat baik 20 tahun yang lalu. Penelitian ini mengelompokkan tutupan lahan saat ini ke dalam vegetasi berkayu (19%), tegakan Acacia senegal (5%), semak yaitu Leptadenia pyrotechnica dan Acacia nubica (18%), pertanian skala kecil dan rerumputan (19%), dan tanah dan bukit pasir (39%). Hasil dari distribusi tutupan lahan menunjukkan bahwa tutupan vegetasi mengalami penurunan sebesar 24%, sedangkan proporsi pasir/bukit pasir meningkat 21% dari 1985 ke 2015. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa daerah penelitian berada di bawah ancaman degradasi lahan yang dapat menyebabkan penipisan vegetasi tutupan dan menurunkan produktivitas lahan.

Determinant of farmers’ participation and biodiversity status in the program of agroforestry rehabilitation in Sudan

“…Similar conditions can also be found in the Tozi tropical dry forest in Sinnar State, Sudan (Yasin and Mulyana 2022), Abu Gadaf natural reserved forest, Sudan (Mohammed et al 2021a), and Dinder biosphere reserve, Sudan (Mohammed et al 2021b). The main factor affecting the bare land and low tree density in Sudan is erratic and low precipitation (Mohammed et al 2016). However, crop species (groundnut, sesame, cowpea, watermelon, and hibiscus) were found in single or multiple cultivations at all sample plots.…”

“…This has a substantial negative impact on soil fertility and biodiversity conservation (Ardiyaningrum et al 2021). To address these issues, however, rehabilitation initiatives in Sudan have been implemented, with a promising trend in increasing vegetation cover and conserving biodiversity (Mohammed et al 2016). In Sudan, however, many initiatives have been made to rehabilitate degraded forests to reverse deforestation and forest degradation trends.…”

Response of Species to the Impact of Climate Change in the Gum Arabic Belt, Sudan: A Case Study in Acacia senegal

“…[25]. Additionally, in this region, common vegetation cover can include poor rangeland and scattered woody plants dominated by Acacia species and Leptadena pyrotechnica [26]. Recently, in the areas to the north of west Darfur, Woodland Savanna forest, which forms vegetation cover, has been dominated by low rainfall.…”

Germination and Early Growth of Acacia nubica Benth. In vitro

“…However, in Sudan, due to human activities and climate change the natural habitats of A. nubica are severely deteriorated. That, A. nubica cover was decreased by 9.72% in North Kordofan, and stated to become infrequent in Gezira State [9,10]. Reforestation of these deteriorated lands demanded a fast and continuous supply of forest plantlets.…”