Land Use Land Cover Changes in the Densu River Basin of Ghana from 1991 To 2020

Kwame  Obeng; Eric Kwabena Forkuo; Jonathan Arthur  Quaye-Ballard; Yaw  Mensah Asare; Patrick  Opoku; Adwoa  Semdu Obeng

doi:10.4314/just.v41i1.1463

Mr. Kwame Obeng Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Prof. Eric Kwabena Forkuo Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Prof. Jonathan Arthur Quaye-Ballard Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Dr Yaw Mensah Asare Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Dr Patrick Opoku Department of Forest Resources Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Adwoa Semdu Obeng

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/just.v41i1.1463

Keywords: Accuracy assessment, Classification, Land Use Land Cover, River basin, Urbanization

Abstract

The Densu basin has a lot of natural resources and serves as a source of livelihood for millions of people in terms of agriculture, tourism, and employment. The basin has undergone a lot of Land Use Land Cover changes which is caused by deforestation, mining and some agricultural practices. This research assessed the rate, extent, and distribution of LULC in the Densu basin of Ghana from 1991 to 2020. Landsat images for 1991, 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020 were selected for classification with five LULC classes namely; forest, farmland, grass and shrub, bare land and settlement, and waterbodies. The Random Forest Classification algorithm was used for the classification. A total of 250 ground-truthing samples and image interpretation was used in developing training data. Throughout the study period, forest and farmland decreased by 10.27% and 12.19% respectively. Grassland and shrub, bare land and settlement, and waterbodies increased by 4.8%, 17.19%, and 0.47% respectively. The study revealed that many farmlands and forests have been converted into bare land and settlements as a result of urbanization and most of these locations have grassland and shrubs surrounding them for beautification reasons. Activities like salt and sand winning are implicated in the increase in water because they cause craters that eventually fill with water. The overall accuracy ranged from 92 to 96 with the overall kappa ranging from 0.91 to 0.95 indicating a good classification performance. Knowledge of these LULC changes is of great importance to policymakers for the monitoring and protection of natural resources

Author Biographies

Mr. Kwame Obeng, Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Kwame Obeng is a researcher with over 10 years experience in research and consultancy services in areas as land surveying, geo-spatial analysis, remote sensing and Geographic Information System with a research focus in areas as land management, climate change and land use land cover. He is a professional member of both the Ghana Institution of Engineers and Ghana Institution of Surveyors.

Prof. Eric Kwabena Forkuo, Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Professor Eric Kwabena Forkuo is a Professor of Geomatic Engineering in the College of Engineering, KNUST. He has over 20 years of teaching, research and consultancy experience in areas of land surveying, mapping, remote sensing and spatial analysis. He has peer-reviewed research articles published in reputable international journals. Prof Forkuo has trained both undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as mentored young faculty at both local and international levels. He is a member of both the Ghana Institution of Surveyors and the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana.

Prof. Jonathan Arthur Quaye-Ballard, Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Prof Jonathan Arthur Quaye-Ballard is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geomatic Engineering, KNUST. He has over 20 years experience in the teaching, research and consultancy services. His research interests involve the application of Geo-Spatial Technologies in solving real world problems concerned with transport, water, health, flood and drought, urban planning, food security, environmental resource management. Areas of research include Geo-Information, Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing, Geo-Visualization, Cartography, Wavelets, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning and Usability Testing. He is a professional member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Ghana Institution of Surveyors and Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana.

Dr Yaw Mensah Asare, Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Dr Yaw Mensah Asare is an expert in Geomatics and a Lecturer at the Geomatic Engineering Department, KNUST. Dr Asare’s research interests are focused mainly on Remote Sensing and GIS application in areas as agriculture, environmental pollution, climate change, land-use/cover change, forestry and urban environment. He has over 10 years experience in research and higher education teaching. He has published several peer-reviewed papers in international journals. He also has expertise in land and hydrographic surveying. He worked as a GIS technician and a hydrographer in the underwater timber harvesting project in Lake Volta of Ghana. He is a professional member of the Ghana Geospatial Society, Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Ghana Institution of Engineers and International Federation of Surveyors (FIG).

Dr Patrick Opoku, Department of Forest Resources Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Dr Patrick Opoku is a Lecturer at the Department of Forest Resources Technology KNUST. His research is interdisciplinary and uses theories and methods (both quantitative and qualitative) from natural and social sciences. His primary research interests are in the areas of land management and governance, forestry and climate change. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in international journals. He is a professional member of the Ghana Institute of Foresters and also the Ghana Science Association.

Adwoa Semdu Obeng

Adwoa Semdu Obeng is an expert in Geomatics and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. She is an Assistant Development Planning Officer at Asante Akim Central Municipal Assembly. Her research interests are focused mainly on remote sensing and GIS applications in areas as agriculture, climate change and urban planning. She also has expertise in drone surveying. She is a professional member of the Ghana Geography Association.