Land Use-Land Cover (LULC) and Vegetation Change in Sokoto Settled–Close Zone Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the Land Use-Land Cover (LULC) and Vegetation Change in Sokoto Settled–Close Zone of Sokoto State. Using combined methods of Reconnaissance Survey, Remote Sensing (RS), Computation of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Use-Land Cover (LULC) classification, post classification computation (PCC), and Change Detection by maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). The finding reveals that, Farmlands and built-up LULC are the predominant land uses in the study area. The highest Land use change increase is built-up with 17.5%; with 8257.9 hectares converted to 13282.2 hectares, while the lowest land use change is bare surface with 0.69%; with 1411.1 hectares decline to 1212.3 hectares between the dates. The trend of LULC change from 2006-2026 shows that built-up has increased by 17.65% while, vegetation declined by 3.22%, and water body rises by 0.03% over the two decades. On the other hand, farmlands loss 13.77%, and bare surface diminishes by 0.69%. Recommendations in the light of this research are: There is need for a policy framework on sustainable urban green infrastructures in the study area. Land Use and Forestry Laws of Sokoto State should be revisited by legislators with a view to enacting stiffer penalties for indiscriminate felling of trees. Finally, formulate an action plan using expertise from SURPB, Sokoto State Ministry of Lands and Housing, Sokoto State Ministry of Environment, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and Academia from tertiary institutions in the state