Assessing wetland cover loss using earth observations

Abstract

Wetland are transitional zones that occupy an intermediate position between dry land and open water, regulate the flow of the water and nutrients thereby facilitating the optimum functioning of the physical and biological cycles of nature(Rani et al., 2011) . The function of wetlands is to store and regulate flow of the water and when that is destroyed, there will be flooding, silting of water bodies and that is what we are seeing(Statement, 2021). Although wetlands provide the ecosystem services, they are under severe pressure from water and land based human activities, which are jeopardizing the natural services that they provide. In fact, some wetlands are drying up due to human activities such as agriculture; livestock rearing and cultivation, dumping of solid wastes, residential, commercial and industrial establishment, water collection for domestic and industrial use, and for recreation among others In this study, land cover classification based on Random Forest classifier was done in order to understand the rate of change of wetland cover in Pallisa for the period between 1986 and 2022 then finally predict the wetland land loss by year 2032. In 1986 Bareland had the highest land cover percentage as 32.49 and the least land cover percentage was built up with 0.07 percent, while in 1995 Bareland had the highest percentage with 29.94 whereas the least was the built up with 0.06 percent and in 2004 grass land had 35.27 percent while forest was the least with zero percent, in 2013 the highest land cover was grassland with 44.75 percent while the least was dry land with 6.46 percent the n finally in 2022 the highest land cover with 43.39 percent while the forest had the smallest percentage with zero(0). By year 2032 the wetland cover loss is predicted to reduce further more by around 13.6% by 2032 of the total land cover will grassland taking the highest percentage of 44.7 and forest taking the smallest percentage. This study revealed that there is significant change in the Land cover of Pallisa due to increased demand for agriculture and settlement to cater for the ever-increasing population based on the personal involvement in an area since I come from the area of research.