Chebby Francis, Mmbaga Naza, Ngongolo Kelvin
Department of Biology, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, The University of Dodoma, Box 338, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Heliyon. 2023 Feb 28;9(3):e14064. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14064. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Land use land cover change (LULCC) is among the major factors affecting the natural environment worldwide. Studying LULCC is essential as it contributes to natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and land use planning, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19. This study aimed at assessing the trend (1995-2021) and magnitude of LULCC in the Burunge WMA ecosystem before (2015-2018) and during COVID-19 (2018-2021). The data on LULCC were collected from the satellite imagery on the USGS website, whereas the data on perceptions of local communities on LULCC from Mwada, Kakoi and Maweni villages were collected through a household questionnaire survey (HQS) of 445 randomly sampled households, focused group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). Quantitative data were analyzed using MS Excel 2019, R software (2022.02.0 + 443) and ArcGIS (Version 10.8). Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The findings indicated a fluctuation in agriculture, forest, and water coverage. For instance, agriculture and settlements increased significantly by 23.91% in 2015-2021 and 5.71% in 1995-2005 respectively, whereas forested land showed a maximum increase of 7.33% in 1995-2005. However, there was a pronounced increase in agricultural lands (3.99%) during the COVID-19 phase as compared to the same time frame before the pandemic. Local communities pointed to agriculture and settlements as the major activities contributing to LULCC. The findings show significant LULCC in Burunge WMA which calls for special attention from responsible authorities and other stakeholders for the achievement of biodiversity conservation and the development of livelihoods in the area.
土地利用土地覆盖变化（LULCC）是影响全球自然环境的主要因素之一。研究LULCC至关重要，因为它有助于自然资源管理、生物多样性保护和土地利用规划，尤其是在COVID-19等大流行期间。本研究旨在评估布伦格野生动物管理区（WMA）生态系统在（2015 - 2018年）之前和COVID-19期间（2018 - 2021年）LULCC的趋势（1995 - 2021年）和幅度。LULCC数据从美国地质调查局网站的卫星图像中收集，而来自姆瓦达、卡科伊和马韦尼村的当地社区对LULCC的认知数据则通过对445户随机抽样家庭的家庭问卷调查（HQS）、焦点小组讨论（FGD）和关键信息人访谈（KII）收集。定量数据使用MS Excel 2019、R软件（2022.02.0 + 443）和ArcGIS（版本10.8）进行分析。定性数据使用内容分析技术进行分析。研究结果表明农业、森林和水域覆盖存在波动。例如，农业和居民点在2015 - 2021年分别显著增加了23.91%，在1995 - 2005年分别增加了5.71%，而林地在1995 - 2005年显示出最大增幅7.33%。然而，与大流行前的同一时间段相比，COVID-19阶段农业用地有显著增加（3.99%）。当地社区指出农业和居民点是导致LULCC的主要活动。研究结果表明布伦格WMA存在显著的LULCC，这需要负责当局和其他利益相关者给予特别关注，以实现该地区的生物多样性保护和生计发展。
