Land use/land cover change and implications for ecosystems services in the Likangala River Catchment, Malawi

Pullanikkatil, Deepa; Palamuleni, Lobina G.; Ruhiiga, Tabukeli Musigi

doi:10.1016/j.pce.2016.03.002

Cited by 58 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…To fill knowledge gaps, a modification of the participatory geographic information system (PGIS) methodology [24] was used to gather information on past land and water uses. Interviews were held with five local elderlies (two over 65 and three over 70 years old living in Gialova, a village of 275 residents [25]), who have been living and working in the area for all of their adult lives.…”

Section: Aerial Photographs Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Changes in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland during the Last Century—The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece

Maneas

Makopoulou

Bousbouras

et al. 2019

Water

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Human interventions during the last 70 years have altered the characteristics of the Gialova Lagoon, a coastal wetland that is part of a wider Natura 2000 site. In this study, we explore how human interventions and climate altered the wetland’s hydrological conditions and habitats, leading to changing wetland functions over time. Our interpretations are based on a mixed methodological approach combining conceptual hydrologic models, analysis of aerial photographs, local knowledge, field observations, and GIS (Geographic Information System) analyses. The results show that the combined effects of human interventions and climate have led to increased salinity in the wetland over time. As a result, the fresh and brackish water marshes have gradually been turned into open water or replaced by halophytic vegetation with profound ecological implications. Furthermore, current human activities inside the Natura 2000 area and in the surrounding areas could further impact on the water quantity and quality in the wetland, and on its sensitive ecosystems. We suggest that a more holistic understanding of the broader socio-ecological system is needed to understand the dynamics of the wetland and to achieve sustainable long-term management and conservation strategies.

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Section: Aerial Photographs Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Changes in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland during the Last Century—The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece

Maneas

Makopoulou

Bousbouras

et al. 2019

Water

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“…Despite that several studies have been done on LULC changes in Malawi [13][14][15][16][17][18], comprehensive studies on urban LULC change in Malawi's cities remain scarce, as such, the understanding of urbanisation is primarily based on population figures only. This inadequacy of LULC change information constrains effective economic and environmental planning, resulting in uninformed policy decisions [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Urban Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Blantyre City, Southern Malawi (1994–2018)

2020

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Rapid and unplanned urban growth has adverse environmental and social consequences. This is prominent in sub-Saharan Africa where the urbanisation rate is high and characterised by the proliferation of informal settlements. It is, therefore, crucial that urban land use/land cover (LULC) changes be investigated in order to enhance effective planning and sustainable growth. In this paper, the spatial and temporal LULC changes in Blantyre city were studied using the integration of remotely sensed Landsat imageries of 1994, 2007 and 2018, and a geographic information system (GIS). The supervised classification method using the support vector machine algorithm was applied to generate the LULC maps. The study also analysed the transition matrices derived from the classified map to identify prominent processes of changes for planning prioritisation. The results showed that the built-up class, which included urban structures such as residential, industrial, commercial and public installations, increased in the 24-year study period. On the contrary, bare land, which included vacant lands, open spaces with little or no vegetation, hilly clear-cut areas and other fallow land, declined over the study period. This was also the case with the vegetation class (i.e., forests, parks, permanent tree-covered areas and shrubs). The post-classification results revealed that the LULC changes during the second period (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) were faster compared to the first period (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007). Furthermore, the results revealed that the increase in built-up areas systematically targeted the bare land and avoided the vegetated areas, and that the vegetated areas were systematically cleared to bare land during the study period . The findings of this study have revealed the pressure of human activities on the land and natural environment in Blantyre and provided the basis for sustainable urban planning and development in Blantyre city.

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“…the supply for drinking and for the production of food), and those services that are non-extractive, whereby the water is left in the soil or in the dependent ecosystems that provide to soil humidity, and a flow base to streams and wetlands, in addition to opportunities for recreation (Knüppe and Pahl-Wostl, 2011). But they are affected by land use and land cover change (LULCC) and satellite remote sensing techniques has been applied extensively for monitoring actual and spatial changes in a variety of natural environments (Pullanikkatil et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) are now providing new tools for advanced ecosystem management, land-use mapping, and planning. The collection of remotely sensed data facilitates the synoptic analyses of Earth -system functions, patterning, and change at local, regional, as well as at global scales over time (Pullanikkatil et al, 2016). Classification of land cover and land use types has been one of the most widely adopted applications of satellite data (Li et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of Land Cover Changes and Delineation of Groundwater Recharge Potential Sites in the Aguanaval Aquifer, Zacatecas, Mexico

González-Trinidad¹

2017

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Land use/land cover change and implications for ecosystems services in the Likangala River Catchment, Malawi

Cited by 58 publications

References 17 publications

Anthropogenic Changes in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland during the Last Century—The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece

Anthropogenic Changes in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland during the Last Century—The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece

An Analysis of Urban Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Blantyre City, Southern Malawi (1994–2018)

Dynamics of Land Cover Changes and Delineation of Groundwater Recharge Potential Sites in the Aguanaval Aquifer, Zacatecas, Mexico

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