The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia
Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services such as storing and regulating water flows and water quality, providing unique habitats to flora and fauna, and regulating micro-climatic conditions. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural use is a widespread practice in Ethiopia, particularly in the sou...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2010-12-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/14/2415/2010/hess-14-2415-2010.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818937446662930432 |
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| author | E. Teferi S. Uhlenbrook W. Bewket J. Wenninger B. Simane |
| author_facet | E. Teferi S. Uhlenbrook W. Bewket J. Wenninger B. Simane |
| author_sort | E. Teferi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services such as storing and regulating water flows and water quality, providing unique habitats to flora and fauna, and regulating micro-climatic conditions. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural use is a widespread practice in Ethiopia, particularly in the southwestern part where wetlands cover large areas. Although there are many studies on land cover and land use changes in this region, comprehensive studies on wetlands are still missing. Hence, extent and rate of wetland loss at regional scales is unknown. The objective of this paper is to quantify wetland dynamics and estimate wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range (area covering 17 443 km<sup>2</sup>) in the Upper Blue Nile basin, a key headwater region of the river Nile. Therefore, satellite remote sensing imagery of the period 1986–2005 were considered. To create images of surface reflectance that are radiometrically consistent, a combination of cross-calibration and atmospheric correction (Vogelman-DOS3) methods was used. A hybrid supervised/unsupervised classification approach was used to classify the images. Overall accuracies of 94.1% and 93.5% and Kappa Coefficients of 0.908 and 0.913 for the 1986 and 2005 imageries, respectively were obtained. The results showed that 607 km<sup>2</sup> of seasonal wetland with low moisture and 22.4 km<sup>2</sup> of open water are lost in the study area during the period 1986 to 2005. The current situation in the wetlands of Choke Mountain is characterized by further degradation which calls for wetland conservation and rehabilitation efforts through incorporating wetlands into watershed management plans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:52:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6400b601a49344c3b907ced6ac9090a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:52:06Z |
| publishDate | 2010-12-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6400b601a49344c3b907ced6ac9090a02022-12-21T19:51:09ZengCopernicus PublicationsHydrology and Earth System Sciences1027-56061607-79382010-12-0114122415242810.5194/hess-14-2415-2010The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, EthiopiaE. TeferiS. UhlenbrookW. BewketJ. WenningerB. SimaneWetlands provide multiple ecosystem services such as storing and regulating water flows and water quality, providing unique habitats to flora and fauna, and regulating micro-climatic conditions. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural use is a widespread practice in Ethiopia, particularly in the southwestern part where wetlands cover large areas. Although there are many studies on land cover and land use changes in this region, comprehensive studies on wetlands are still missing. Hence, extent and rate of wetland loss at regional scales is unknown. The objective of this paper is to quantify wetland dynamics and estimate wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range (area covering 17 443 km<sup>2</sup>) in the Upper Blue Nile basin, a key headwater region of the river Nile. Therefore, satellite remote sensing imagery of the period 1986–2005 were considered. To create images of surface reflectance that are radiometrically consistent, a combination of cross-calibration and atmospheric correction (Vogelman-DOS3) methods was used. A hybrid supervised/unsupervised classification approach was used to classify the images. Overall accuracies of 94.1% and 93.5% and Kappa Coefficients of 0.908 and 0.913 for the 1986 and 2005 imageries, respectively were obtained. The results showed that 607 km<sup>2</sup> of seasonal wetland with low moisture and 22.4 km<sup>2</sup> of open water are lost in the study area during the period 1986 to 2005. The current situation in the wetlands of Choke Mountain is characterized by further degradation which calls for wetland conservation and rehabilitation efforts through incorporating wetlands into watershed management plans.http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/14/2415/2010/hess-14-2415-2010.pdf |
| spellingShingle | E. Teferi S. Uhlenbrook W. Bewket J. Wenninger B. Simane The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| title | The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia |
| title_full | The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia |
| title_short | The use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the Choke Mountain range, Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | use of remote sensing to quantify wetland loss in the choke mountain range upper blue nile basin ethiopia |
| url | http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/14/2415/2010/hess-14-2415-2010.pdf |
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