Land Use and Cover Change Patterns in Lower Moiben Sub-County Catchment Area, Kenya
Keywords:
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Hydrology, Land use patterns, Remote sensingAbstract
The changes in land use patterns in Lower Moiben Sub-County catchment area are examined in this study, with a focus on the change between 1995 and 2024. Major land use changes have occurred in the Sub-County catchment area because of socio-economic developments, farming activities, and increased population. Changes in land use that result from the conversion of forests to agricultural land, especially for livestock grazing and increased crop lands, growth of built areas, among others, have affected water supplies and hydrological balance for communities within the catchment. The study used GIS and remote sensing data to assess land use patterns over time and space and also household interviews to understand the observed land use changes. The results shows that there is expansion of croplands (from 51.48% to 77.67%) and built areas (from 0.80% to 4.21 %). Some had slight increase in general, such as, forests (30.53% to 31.22%) and rangeland (12.69% to13.65%) though it is reduction from previous years. The results shows how human activity affects land use/land cover change (LULCC), indicating that whereas certain changes such as increase in built areas mean better development, others changes such as reduced forests may lead to water scarcity. These findings shows that efficient land use management are required in the catchment. These results are useful to policymakers, local communities, and environmental organizations who are strategizing on balancing between development and sustainable land use practices.
References
A systematic review. Agricultural Water Management, 250, 106864.
Ali, U., Esau, T. J., Farooque, A. A., Zaman, Q. U., Abbas, F., & Bilodeau, M. F. (2022). Limiting the collection of ground truth data for land use and land cover maps with machine learning algorithms. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 11(6), 333.
Betru, T., Tolera, M., Sahle, K., & Kassa, H. (2019). Trends and drivers of land use/land cover change in Western Ethiopia. Applied Geography, 104, 83-93.
Birhanu, A., Masih, I., Van Der Zaag, P., Nyssen, J., & Cai, X. (2019). Impacts of land use and land cover changes on hydrology of the Gumara Sub catchment, Ethiopia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts a/b/c, 112, 165-174.
Chepkurui, Abigael & Charles, Kigen & Abdi, Nunow. (2022). A Tropical River Discharge Response to Land Use Land Cover Change. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. 12. 172-181. 10.29322/IJSRP.12.11.2022.p13122.
Karuku, G. N., & Mugo, E. (2019). Land Use Effects on Lake Ol'bolossat Watershed Conservation, Nyandarua County. JOJ Wildlife & Biodiversity, 1(2), 26.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census. Volume I: Population by County and Sub-County. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Available at: KNBS 2019 Census Report
Kiprop, J. K. (2018). Economic valuation of Moiben River pollution and improved domestic water supply in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Eldoret).
Kiptoo, K. H. (2023). Influence of public participation on implementation of Kaprobu dam project, Moiben Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, Egerton University).
Koskey, J. C., Ogendi, G. M., M'Erimba, C. M., & Maina, G. M. (2021). Spatial and temporal variations in land use and land cover in the Njoro and Kamweti River Sub catchments, Kenya. East African Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2(3).
Langat, P. K., Kumar, L., & Koech, R. (2019). Understanding water and land use within Tana and Athi River Basins in Kenya: opportunities for improvement. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 5, 977-987.
Li, D., Wang, S., He, Q., & Yang, Y. (2022). Cost-effective land cover classification for remote sensing images. Journal of Cloud Computing, 11(1), 62.
Mansourian, S., & Berrahmouni, N. (2021). Review of forest and landscape restoration in Africa 2021. Food & Agriculture Org..
Ndungu, J. N., & Nyariki, D. M. (2023). Land use and land cover changes and their drivers in Kenya: A systematic synthesis of studies. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195, Article 184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-10864-1
Ngunjiri, M. W., Libohova, Z., Minai, J. O., Serrem, C., Owens, P. R., & Schulze, D. G. (2019). Predicting soil types and soil properties with limited data in the Uasin Gishu Plateau, Kenya. Geoderma Regional, 16, e00210.
Oduor, B. O., Mutua, B. M., & Wambua, R. M. (2023). Evaluation of the Streamflow Response to Agricultural Land Expansion in the Thiba River Watershed in Kenya. Agricultural & Rural Studies, 1(2), 0011-0011.
Onyango, L. A., & Sweta, L. (2020). Deforestation and greening in East Africa: Science and policy responses. In W. Leal Filho, A. M. Azul, L. Brandli, P. G. Özuyar, & T. Wall (Eds.), Life on Land (pp. 1–13). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_95-1
Opiyo, S. B., Opinde, G., & Letema, S. (2022). Dynamics and drivers of land use and land cover changes in Migori River Watershed, western Kenya region. Watershed Ecology and the Environment, 4, 219-232.
Oyekale, A. S., & Ogunsanya, O. A. (2012). Factors Influencing Households’ Access to Portable Water in Rural Nigeria. Life Science Journal, 9(3), 2488-2494.
Oyugi, J. O & Makana, N. (2023). The Evolution of Eldoret Town Upto 1912. Journal of Popular Education in Africa, 6(12), 62-72.
Tena, T. M., Mwaanga, P., & Nguvulu, A. (2019). Impact of land use/land cover change on hydrological components in Chongwe River Sub catchment. Sustainability, 11(22), 6415.
Twisa, S., & Buchroithner, M. F. (2019). Land-use and land-cover (LULC) change detection in Wami River Basin, Tanzania. Land, 8(9), 136.
Uhlenbrook, S., & Connor, R. (2019). The United Nations world water development report 2019: leaving no one behind.
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics, an Introductory Analysis (2nd ed.). New York: Harper and Row.
