The new millennium so far: analysing land cover change in Ogun State Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Land cover change research is salient in providing information for land use planning and management in urban areas. This study therefore analysed land cover change in four local government areas in Ogun State, Nigeria. Using remote sensing and geographic information system, Landsat images were analysed between 2001, 2013 and 2020 with both unsupervised and supervised image classifications. Results showed that between 2002 and 2013, there was a 41.14% decrease in forest area which further reduced by 41.92% by 2020. Agricultural land increased by 66.47% between 2002 and 2013 but reduced by 43.24% by 2020. Urban areas increased by 108.66% between 2002 and 2013 while by 2020 they had gained 42.19% additional land. It is concluded that the 2005–2025 Ogun State regional planning policy has so far been less than effective due to massive ecological change caused by urban expansion in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Land use change
• urbanisation
• remote sensing
• geographic information system
• artificial intelligence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Oluwafemi Michael Odunsi

Dr Oluwafemi Michael Odunsi is an academic, a researcher, and a certified town planner with specialisation in Environmental Management and Sustainability. His research interests are environmental risk and disaster management, climate change adaptation and resilience, and urban growth modelling and land use studies.

Margaret Yejide Onanuga

Dr Margaret Yejide Onanuga is an environmental health officer, academic and researcher with extensive experience in environmental science, environmental health and geography. Her research interests comprise urbanization and land use, climate change, spatial epidemiology and public health.

Olabisi S. Obaitor

Dr Olabisi S. Obaitor is an urban planner and research fellow at LMU, Munich. Her research interests include urban remote sensing, climate change, urban informality, urban poverty and vulnerability, and pro-poor development.