Application of GIS techniques in mapping related land
use practices in flood plain wetlands. Upper
Noun Valley
drainage basin-Cameroon
The focus of this study is
the application of remote sensing and GIS techniques to mapping of different
land use practices both within and without the wetland area in the Upper
Noun Valley
drainage basin. The flood plain is rich in wetland products and fertile
volcanic and alluvial soils. This potential makes the plain one of the major
seasonal in-migration zone for agro pastoral activities during the rainy and
dry season in the grass fields of Cameroon.
Products associated to this wetland area, are fish, wood, fodder, herbs,
reservoir and wildlife. These products trigger a number of diverse, related
land use practices at all seasons of the year, including fishing, agriculture,
transhumance, swamp rice cultivation etc. The plain alone is the home of
thirteen different ethnic groupings that depends directly on the wetland
products for their daily survival. The
close relationship of these land use practices both within the wetland area and
the drainage basin, largely engender perturbations in the ecological processes
and certainly creating an imbalance in the flood plain wetland ecosystem. The
following annotated bibliography makes a review of wetland and GIS related
studies that have been carried out around the world in order to guide this
study
Joseph Spruce, Risa Wu, Russell Berry (2001). GIS Techniques for
Evaluating Wetland Maps Derived from Remotely Sensed Data. International
Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 22, No 1, Pp 89-98.
This paper
discusses GIS techniques used in this study in Salisbury,
Maryland. Using remotely sensed images from
NASA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Program office, the aerial photographs were
used for deriving wetland classification and mapping. The paper reiterated the
fact that remotely sensed data products often constitute an invaluable
component of GISs, and a great deal of software development has taken place to
aid the use of remotely sensed data in GISs. Modern GISs give users the ability
to conduct visual and quantitative analysis involving multiple kinds of digital
spatial data, including remotely sensed imagery. In addition, GISs provide
several tools for working with raster remotely sensed and thematic imagery.
Several remotely sensed datasets were evaluated including: Airborne Terrestrial
Applications Sensor (ATLAS) airborne daytime 2.5-meter multispectral imagery
with bands in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared spectral
regions; ATLAS nighttime 2.5-meter multiband thermal imagery; and AIRSAR
airborne 9-meter multiband radar imagery. Additional datasets for mapping
wetlands included a GPS-based survey of wetland boundaries, GPS-based locations
of wells located across field-delineated wetness gradients, National Wetland
Inventory digital maps produced at 1:24,000 scale by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS), 1:24,000 U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps, and 1:8,000
color infrared (CIR) aerial photography acquired in 1995 during the same
mission as the airborne daytime multispectral imagery. The result showed a much
stronger correlation occurs in non-transitional wetlands and uplands. This
GIS-based interpretive analysis the study noted can also be quantified for each
wetness map by applying buffering routines on the wetness map, rasterizing each
buffered output, and then cross-tabulating the gridded buffer file against the
well wetness data. Doing so would provide an estimate of the proximity of each
well to the wetland boundary. This similar observation and interpretive
analysis will be approach in the study to be carried in the Upper
Noun Valley
to map Land use practices base on remotely sensed data sets and using GIS
techniques the boundaries will be delineated.
Xiaojun, Y. and Zhi, L. (2005). Using satellite imagery and
GIS for land-use and land-cover change mapping in an estuarine watershed. International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol.
26, No. 23, pp. 5275–5296
Satellite images and GIS methods are very vital instruments
for assessing land use and land cover changes and related human role to
influence these changes. This method is going to be applied in Ndop flood plain
in Cameroon with
inspirations drawn from this study conducted in Pensacola
estuarine drainage area to characterize land-use and land-cover changes. The Pensacola bay was
targeted because it is one of few exemplary large river-driven estuarine
systems across the northern Gulf of Mexico. The
study had two major sections. The first part was dedicated to the development
of an improved method for coastal land-use and land-cover mapping, which was
built upon hierarchical classification and spatial reclassification. An image
scene was separated into urban and rural regions early in the classification,
with a ‘mask’ defined by road intersection density slices combined with road
buffers. Each part was classified independently in its most effective context
and, later, both were merged to form a complete map. In spatial
reclassification, image interpretation procedures, auxiliary vector data and a
variety of Geographical Information System (GIS) functions were synthesized to
resolve spectral confusion and improve mapping accuracy. This method was used
to map land use and land cover from Landsat Thematic Mapper/Enhanced Thematic
Mapper Plus (TM/ETM+) imagery for 1989, 1996 and 2002, respectively. The second
part focused on the analysis of the spatio-temporal dynamics of estuarine
land-use and land-cover changes by using post-classification comparison and GIS
overlay techniques. The project has revealed that a substantial growth of
low-density urban land occurred in the lower drainage basin in connection with
population and housing growth, as well as a significant increase of mixed
forest land in the upper watershed as a result of active logging and harvesting
operations. These growths were achieved at the cost of evergreen forest and
wetlands, thus compromising safeguards for water quality, biodiversity of aquatic
systems, habitat structure and watershed health in the Pensacola
estuarine drainage area. Satellite images from Landsat and other related
sources from 1990 to present will be collected for the Ndop floodplain in order
have a good assessment of related land use changes and implications on the
wetlands.
Calzadilla P, Damen M.C,
Geneletti D. and T.W. Hobma T.
(2002). Monitoring a Recent Delta Formation in a Tropical Coast al
Wetland Using Remote Sensing and GIS. Case Study: Guapo River Delta, Laguna de
Tacarigua, Venezuela. Environmental, Development and
Sustainability, Vol. 4, No. 2, Pp 201-219.
This
study centered on studying the integrated use of remotely sensed data and GIS
to monitor a rapid recent delta formation in the Tacarigua Lagoon, a mangrove coastal
protected wetland in the north-central coast of Venezuela. A
historical set of aerial photographs and a radar image, together with a GIS,
were used to assess the growth of the delta from the beginning of its formation
up to the present time. Aerospace data interpretation and a field survey were
utilised to study the formation of the Guapo River
delta within the Tacarigua Lagoon and to map the expansion that this
depositional environment has undergone.
This study is important to the study that will be carried
out in the Upper Noun Drainage Basin because the study will center on acquiring
remotely sensed data and Geosciences techniques to map related land use
implications on the wetland habitat.
Zacharias I, Dimitriou E, and Koussouris T. (2004). Quantifying
land-use alterations and associated hydrologic impacts at a wetland area by
using remote sensing and modeling techniques. Environmental
Modeling and Assessment, Vol. 9 No.1, Pp 23-32.
This particular study makes an
attempt to conduct an integrated survey to identify land use changes and
related hydrological alterations in the semi-mountainous subcatchment of
Trichonis lake basin, in Western Greece, within the last 40 years. A variety of hydrologic and
ecological parameters were analyzed and their spatial and temporal alterations
were correlated to the observed land use modifications in order to assess the
impact of these modifications on the area’s hydroecologic conditions. The study
revealed that Land use changes and associated hydrologic disturbances were
mainly caused by human activities, a common reason for wetlands degradation
worldwide. The study particularly utilized remotely sensed data, GIS techniques
and hydrologic modeling to estimate land use alterations during a 40-years
period as well as associated changes in hydrologic parameters such as overland
and underground flow, infiltration, evapotranspiration and water storages on
ground surface. The study however was
limited to quantification of the land use impacts. The following study will also assess the
state of land use practices in a wetland area through GIScience in order to
model the relationship between the land use and the wetlands in a drainage
basin.
Gesche K, Michael B, Stefan W and Gerald B (2004). Mapping
Land-Cover and Mangrove Structures with Remote Sensing Techniques: A
Contribution to a Synoptic GIS in Support of Coastal Management in North Brazil.
Environmental Management, Vol. 34, No 3 pp. 429-440.
The major objective of the study was to use a
vector-based GIS to establish a platform for the integration of data gathered
in the participating scientific fields and to provide basic modules for
applications in biological, socioeconomic, and dynamic ecological modeling. The
study combined satellite imagery, aerial photography, and field data, and this
gave a standardized geomatching of an adaptive information system, in which
ecological and socioeconomic parameters could be integrated. Land use classification
was made possible with the master satellite image. However, due to the patchy,
small-scale units of agricultural land use in the study area, the results of
this classification were prone to inaccuracies, because the pixel size of
Landsat data with 30m is sometimes in comparable order of magnitude as the
small-scale land-use plots. The study concludes that the findings are a
demonstration that mangrove ecosystems require several spatial and temporal
levels of observation and interdisciplinary monitoring. This can be with tools
such as a synoptic GIS, including remotely sensed data, useful to illuminate
the important ecological and socio-economic components of a system and their
relatedness. The following research to be carried out in the Ndop flood plain
will seek to use several tools to collect GIScience data in order to establish
a proper relation between the land use practices and the wetlands.
Sajeey R, Subramanian
V. (2006). Land use/land cover changes in Ashtamudi wetland region of Kerala
- A study using remote sensing and GIS. Journal of the Geological Society
of India. Vol.
61, No. 5, Pp. 573-580.
This study is carried out in India
in a stressed wetland area due excessive human intervention. The study assesses
the land use/ land cover conversions in Ashtamudi wetland region from 1967 to
1997. The impact of land use/land cover conversion was quantified using the
technique of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). This was
with the aid of India Survey topographic map, hard copies of IRS-1A LISS 11,
and IRS-1C LISS III images to determine the changes that have taken place in
the wetlands due to human activities. Ashtamudi estuary, the second largest
wetland ecosystem of Kerala is the deepest among all the estuaries of Kerala.
The results from study shows that increasing population density, change in family
system, extensive coconut husk retting and deposition of husk waste along the
margin of the estuary, solid waste deposition from factories, reclamation of
the estuary by local population and low profit obtained from paddy cultivation
are mainly responsible for the large-scale land use/ land cover conversions in
the wetland region. A similar approach will be use in the Ndop plain to
determine the relationship between the different land use practices and the
wetland area.
Lyon G
and MacCarthy J, (1995). Wetlands and environmental application of GIS.
Pp 400. www.eebookstore.com/pd_wetlands_and.cfm
This is an outstanding book
that focuses on current capabilities of spatial analysis and modeling using GIS
and related technologies. The goal is to be innovative with the application of
tools to provide database of information to support modeling of phenomena. GIS
technologies facilitate the processing of spatially distributed variables
represented at different scales or resolutions. Also the digital approach of
storing and processing spatial or image data, visualization and analysis,
virtual realities and simulation modeling are discussed at length in this book.
Philip
R, Beeri O, and Dekevser (2005). Remote wetland assessment for Missouri Coteau prairie glacial basins. Wetlands, Vol. 25, No. 2, Pp. 335-349.
This study was carried out to develop and evaluated a remote sensing
model for detecting basin buffer disturbance in North Dakota's Prairie
Pothole Region (PPR). This was integrating satellite technology with knowledge
of structural factors fundamental to wetland quality i.e., land-use and natural
vegetation buffers surrounding water bodies. Four Landsat ETM+ scenes (May 31,
Jul 02, Aug 03, Aug 19, 2002) and one SPOT 5 (Spot Image, France) image (Aug 07,
2003) were successfully acquired for this project. Landsat imagery provided
temporal data required for initial classification steps, with 15-m pixels for
panchromatic and 30-m pixels for visible, near-infrared (Near-IR) and
mid-infrared bands (Mid-IR). SPOT 5 data provided a smaller area of interest
and the fine resolution (10-m visible and Near-IR; 20-m Mid-IR) necessary for
delineation of the narrow plant community zones found within basins. The main
goal for remote sensing was to build a classification model to map wetland
buffer information for thousands of small, dynamic basins. This lead to land
use classification for example Vegetation was classified using the decision
tree method that first differentiated plant communities into three classes: 1) cropland,
2) natural vegetation, and 3)
alfalfa, which represent the model foundation. The study to be carried out in
Ndop flood plain will use different data remote sensing data to classify the
different land use activities in the flood plain.
Chen X. (2002). Using
remote sensing and GIS to analyze land cover change and its impacts on regional
sustainable development. International Journal of Remote
Sensing, Vol. 23, No. 1, Pp. 107-124
Geographic Information system
is use in this study to analyze data from high spatial resolution satellite
sensors derived from remotely sensed data. The study focuses on acquiring
remotely sensed data whereby GIS techniques were applied spatial analysis of
land cover dynamics. Land cover change derived from this multi-temporal
satellite data was use for impact classification on land cover change in the west coastal zone of Korea. The paper
concludes that the results from this study provided very useful information to
local government in decision-making and policy planning. The satellite-derived
data used in this study are Thematic Mapper (TM) data acquired by Landsat-5 on 14 May
1985, 20 May
1987, 26 April
1990 and 20 May
1993 in Ansan City, Korea.
The land use classification that will be applied in the Upper Noun Valley wetlands will be base on the rainy season
and dry season land use practices from the remotely sensed data.
Kashaigili.
J. Mbilinyi, B, Mccartney, M and. Mwanuzi, F (2006). Dynamics of Usangu plains wetlands: Use of
remote sensing and GIS as management decision tools. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. Vol. 31 (15-16), Pp. 967-975.
This
study is a profound example of how Remote sensing and GIS
technologies have proved to be useful tools for assisting decision-makers to
locate and quantify changes in land resources, and hence to identify
appropriate solutions for sustainable management of wetlands. The paper
outlines the procedures adopted for investigating the dynamics of wetlands on
the Usangu Plains, and the links between factors causing change, by utilizing
remote sensing and GIS. The Usangu Plains are located in the southwestern part
of Tanzania.
Landsat-MSS and Landsat-TM images from 1973, 1984 and 2000, were used to locate
and quantify the changes. Satellite
images were geometrically rectified and registered to the UTM map coordinate
system UTM zone 36 South, Spheroid Clarke 1880, Datum Arc 1960, based on a
previous georeferenced Landsat TM image of 14th August 1994. An ERDAS image processing
system was used for all image data processing. The unsupervised image
classification was used for all images. Twenty classes were formulated and
confirmed through the use of ground-truth data and colour-composite images.
Misclassified classes were interpreted visually and the results combined to
respective classes. The results from the study showed a close link between
ecosystem change and the increased anthropogenic activities. The increase in
anthropogenic activities reflects an increased population. This is reflected in
the images result showing that vegetated swamp cover increased in area between
1973 and 1984, and decreased tremendously in 2000 due to population increase.
Alphan H and Yilmaz K.
(2006). Monitoring
Environmental Changes in the Mediterranean Coastal Landscape: The Case of Cukurova, Turkey. Environmental Management,
Vol. 35, No. 5, Pp. 607-619.
Cukurova
is one of the largest coastal plains in Turkey
that provides space not only for agriculture, but industries, settlement, and
transportation. It is an important coastal wetlands ecosystem that has been
increasingly disturbed in recent years. The objective of the study was to
represent a methodology that relies upon multitemporal remotely sensed
satellite data and digital image interpretation techniques to monitor
landscape-level environmental changes in this region of southeast Mediterranean
coastal zone of Turkey. Three Landsat TM and ETM+ data sets acquired in 1984,
1993, and 2000, respectively, were used to determine Land Use/Land Cover
changes between 1984 and 2000. Topographic maps and aerial photographs from
1992 were used as the source of reference information for the analysis of
satellite images and verification of change detection. Eleven LULC classes
prior to digital image interpretation and changes were detected with
agriculture as the major land use in the study area. Both pre and
post-classification approaches were used in order to provide a strong basis for
landscape-level environmental monitoring. The authors further noted that this
study is crucial for developing countries, because the use of remote sensing in
LULC change studies have become widely recognized as an effective method of
change analysis. This method of determining LULC changes through remote sensing
images will be applied in the Ndop floodplain with the use of aerial and topographic
maps to verify changes detected by the satellite images from 1990 to present.
Mensing D, Galatowitsch S, and Tester J.
(1998). Anthropogenic effects on the biodiversity of riparian wetlands of a
northern temperate landscape. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 53 No.4,
Pp. 349-377.
This study
was carried out in fifteen different riparian sites along fourteen low streams
to represent land use gradient from least impacted, most base on preliminary
assessments of channel condition, land use and accessibility. This covers
portions of three major catchments: the Upper Mississippi River, Lake Superior
and the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River. Those wetlands considered most impacted by
anthropogenic effects have both on-site degradation and landscape alteration
while least disturbed wetlands have minimal site and landscape alteration. To
evaluate the land use assessment and site disturbance, a GIS land use/land
cover database was developed using ARC/INFO7.07 (ESRI, 1992) at a 100m minimum
mapping resolution to characterize landscape condition. Existing digital land use data (from late
1970s to 19902) were obtained from several state and county agencies (regional
data) and from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (statewide data).
In consistencies in available data required updating or subcategorisation to be
conducted for certain coverages by using recent (1991 or 1994) aerial
photography. As some land use data were recorded in the 1980s, 1992
agricultural census data were used to estimate the acreage of agricultural land
use to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land.
Land use data were grouped into six general land use types: urban,
cultivated, rangeland, forest, wetland and water. Permanent land use features
were verified in the field, such as the type, number, size and impacts
associated with roads, bridges, buildings, culverts, ditches, feedlots,
disturbed areas, etc. the study concludes that of the organismal groups
surveyed in this study, birds are the best indicators of landscape condition
within the near vicinity of small stream riparian wetlands and fish community
composition corresponds to broader landscape land use patterns. In contrast,
vegetation, amphibian and invertebrate communities are weaker predictors of
land use impacts. The following study in the Ndop flood plain will assess the
different anthropogenic implications on the wetland area with the application
of GIScience.
Nathan
M, Jiaguo Q, Gary R, and Jan S (2006). Investigating impacts of land-use
land cover change on wetlands in the Muskegon River Watershed, Michigan, USA. Wetlands, Vol. 26, No. 4, Dec. 2006, Pp.
1103-1113.
Land use and land cover
changes can result in direct ecosystem loss, as well as fragmentation causing
decreases in wetlands. This paper’s objective was to investigate wetland
quality changes resulting from land-use land cover alterations at a watershed
scale. Landscape pattern metrics were generated to examine changes in wetlands
characteristics between 1978 and 2000 in the Muskegon River Watershed (MRW), Michigan,
USA. The
Michigan Resource Information System (MIRIS) land use/land cover database was
the primary data used in this investigation. MIRIS was developed from color
infrared aerial photos at 1:24,000 scale as part of the National Aerial Photography
Program. MIRIS geospatial processing was consistent with Federal Geographic
Data Committee guidelines (Michigan Land Cover/Use Classification System 2000).
MIRIS data originally came in the Michigan GeoRef Coordinate System (oblique
mercator, NAD83). The research investigating stressor-response relations
between land use land cover change and wetland stress measures had mixed
results. The transition matrix indicates that, according to the MIRIS data,
little change occurred in the total areas of wetlands identified across the
entire MRW. The study also found varied responses between agricultural land-use
intensity and wetland stress indicators, namely nutrient levels; invertebrate
richness, and vegetation density, land use-hydrology alterations have generally
shown stronger results. The following research will apply GIS techniques in
mapping related land use practices in wetland area in order to better
investigate land use implications on wetlands in Upper Noun Valley Cameron.
Hudson P, Coldiditz R., Aguilar R, Miguel (2006).
Spatial Relations between Floodplain Environments and Land Use-Land Cover of
a Large Lowland Tropical River valley: Pánuco Basin, México. Environmental
Management, Vol. 38 No. 3, Pp. 487-503.
This study combines remote
sensing and geomorphology to examine spatial relations between floodplain
environments and LULC in the lower Pánuco basin of humid tropical eastern Mexico.
The paper point out that the advantages of using remote sensing to examine
floodplain landscapes are that it enables large river valleys to be mapped and
can be used by agencies for assessment, planning, and developing sound
approaches to environmental management. The new data sources that were used are
the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER)
sensor system. ASTER data are appropriate for detailed LULC and geomorphic
studies due to high spatial resolution in the visible, near-infrared (15-m),
and short-wave infrared (30-m) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This
study is particularly outstanding in this review because it has investigated
the influence of individual floodplain environments on the pattern of LULC,
associated with the topography in tropical environments. The paper further laid
emphasis to the fact that, spatial differences in floodplain environments is of
central importance to this study. And so, for this reason, the river valley was
segmented where major changes in floodplain geomorphology occur. To segment the
river valley, a longitudinal valley profile was created by sampling the
floodplain elevation from the DEM at 5-km increments along the valley axis. The
classification of the floodplain environments and spatial relations with LULC
was made with satellite images acquired during the wet and dry season. Landsat
5TM image was utilized for wet conditions, whereas dry conditions were depicted
with the ASTER mosaic. Relationships between LULC and floodplain environments
were investigated using geographic information system (GIS) and standard
cross-tabulation. Spatial relations between LULC and floodplain
geomorphology showed a proxy for soils,
hydrology, and topography, and so a deeper understanding of the floodplain
landscape can be obtained by considering spatial relations between LULC and
individual geomorphic units. The paper concludes by emphasizing that
Land-use/land-cover classification is highly dependent on recent satellite
imagery, but this does not preclude consideration of older historical and
prehistoric influences. Thus by considering relationships between LULC and
geomorphology, the results of this study have implications to improving
floodplain management, particularly for flood hazards. Establishing this
relationship is similar to the study that will be carried in the Upper
Noun Valley in Cameroon
whereby the related land use practices will be mapped in order to determine the
close relations existing between the physical landscape, land use practices and
the wetland area.
Haack, B. (1996). Monitoring
Wetland Changes with Remote Sensing: An East African. Environmental Management,
Vol. 20, No. 3, Pp. 411-419.
Environmental managers need current, accurate information upon which to
base decisions. Viable information, especially in developing countries, is
often unavailable. Satellite remote sensing is an appropriate and effective
data source for mapping the surface of the earth, including a variety of
environmental features. Remote-sensing-derived information is enhanced by being
one component within a geographic information system (GIS). These techniques
were employed to study an expanding delta in East Africa. The Omo River flows from the Ethiopian Highlands into the northern end of Lake
Turkana, creating a large delta extending between Ethiopia and Kenya. This isolated and
unique wetland feature has expanded by over 500 sq km in the last 15 years as
measured by space-borne remote sensing techniques and corroborated by
low-altitude aircraft reconnaissance flights. The growth of the delta appears
to be a function of both increased sedimentation and decreased lake levels and
river flows. Within the delta there has been a selective decline in wildlife
and an increase in human activity, both pastoral and agricultural. The
uniqueness of this isolated delta suggests that consideration be given to its
possible protection and management.