Land Use/Land Cover Change Analysis Using Object-Based Classification Approach in Munessa-Shashemene Landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands

Remote Sensing

Mengistie Kindu¹  Thomas Schneider¹  Demel Teketay² 

[1] Institute of Forest Management, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, D-85354 Freising, Germany; E-Mails:;Department of Crop Science and Production, Botswana College of Agriculture, Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana; E-Mail:

关键词: Landsat;    RapidEye;    accuracy assessment;    remote sensing;    GIS;    image;    Ethiopia;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs5052411

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this study was to analyze land use/land cover (LULC) changes in the landscape of Munessa-Shashemene area of the Ethiopian highlands over a period of 39 years (1973–2012). Satellite images of Landsat MSS (1973), TM (1986), ETM+ (2000), and RapidEye (2012) were used. All images were classified using object-based image classification technique. Accuracy assessments were conducted for each reference year. Change analysis was carried out using post classification comparison in GIS. Nine LULCs were successfully captured with overall accuracies ranging from 85.7% to 93.2% and Kappa statistic of 0.822 to 0.924. The classification result revealed that grasslands (42.3%), natural forests (21%), and woodlands (11.4%) were dominant LULC types in 1973. In 2012, croplands (48.5%) were the major LULC types followed by others. The change result shows that a rapid reduction in woodland cover of 81.8%, 52.3%, and 36.1% occurred between the first (1973–1986), second (1986–2000), and third (2000–2012) study periods, respectively. Similarly, natural forests cover decreased by 26.1% during the first, 21.1% during the second, and 24.4% during the third periods. Grasslands also declined by 11.9, 17.5, and 21.1% during the three periods, respectively. On the contrary, croplands increased in all three periods by 131, 31.5, and 22.7%, respectively. Analysis of the 39-year change matrix revealed that about 60% of the land showed changes in LULC. Changes were also common along the slope gradient and agro-ecological zones with varying proportions. Further study is suggested to investigate detailed drivers and consequences of changes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland