Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve
Abstract Background Land use practices are noted to contribute to changes in forest landscape composition. However, whereas studies have reported the intermix of land uses and forest patches and measured the direct impacts of land uses on forest patches, little is known regarding the spatially-expli...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2021-02-01
|
| Series: | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01758-0 |
| _version_ | 1819069350466813952 |
|---|---|
| author | Williams Agyemang-Duah Joseph Oduro Appiah Dina Adei |
| author_facet | Williams Agyemang-Duah Joseph Oduro Appiah Dina Adei |
| author_sort | Williams Agyemang-Duah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Land use practices are noted to contribute to changes in forest landscape composition. However, whereas studies have reported the intermix of land uses and forest patches and measured the direct impacts of land uses on forest patches, little is known regarding the spatially-explicit association between the most recent forest patches and land use footprints in protected areas. In this study, we use methods from GIS, remote sensing, and statistics to model the spatial relationship between footprints of land uses and patches of forest cover by drawing on geospatial data from the Atewa range forest reserve (ARFR). Results The study finds that forest patches that are within 1 km from agricultural land use footprints (AOR = 86.625, C.I. 18.057–415.563, P = 0.000), logging sites (AOR = 55.909, C.I. 12.032–259.804, P = 0.000), mine sites (53.571, C.I. 11.287–254.255, P = 0.000), access roads (AOR = 24.169, C.I. 5.544–105.357, P = 0.000), and human settlement footprints (AOR = 7.172, C.I. 1.969–26.128, P = 0.003) are significantly more likely to be less than the mean patch area (375,431.87 m2 = 37.54 ha) of forest cover. A ROC statistic of 0.995 achieved in this study suggests a high predictive power of the proposed model. Conclusion The study findings suggest that to ensure sustainable land uses and ecological integrity, there is a need for land use policies and land management strategies that ensure responsible livelihood activities as well as further restrictions on logging and mining in the globally significant biodiversity area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:48:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dcc56ba7d385458888047fb1fa280646 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2730-7182 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:48:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-dcc56ba7d385458888047fb1fa2806462022-12-21T18:56:56ZengBMCBMC Ecology and Evolution2730-71822021-02-0121111310.1186/s12862-021-01758-0Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserveWilliams Agyemang-Duah0Joseph Oduro Appiah1Dina Adei2Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologySchool of Environmental Planning, University of Northern British ColumbiaDepartment of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Background Land use practices are noted to contribute to changes in forest landscape composition. However, whereas studies have reported the intermix of land uses and forest patches and measured the direct impacts of land uses on forest patches, little is known regarding the spatially-explicit association between the most recent forest patches and land use footprints in protected areas. In this study, we use methods from GIS, remote sensing, and statistics to model the spatial relationship between footprints of land uses and patches of forest cover by drawing on geospatial data from the Atewa range forest reserve (ARFR). Results The study finds that forest patches that are within 1 km from agricultural land use footprints (AOR = 86.625, C.I. 18.057–415.563, P = 0.000), logging sites (AOR = 55.909, C.I. 12.032–259.804, P = 0.000), mine sites (53.571, C.I. 11.287–254.255, P = 0.000), access roads (AOR = 24.169, C.I. 5.544–105.357, P = 0.000), and human settlement footprints (AOR = 7.172, C.I. 1.969–26.128, P = 0.003) are significantly more likely to be less than the mean patch area (375,431.87 m2 = 37.54 ha) of forest cover. A ROC statistic of 0.995 achieved in this study suggests a high predictive power of the proposed model. Conclusion The study findings suggest that to ensure sustainable land uses and ecological integrity, there is a need for land use policies and land management strategies that ensure responsible livelihood activities as well as further restrictions on logging and mining in the globally significant biodiversity area.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01758-0Forest patchesLand useForest reserveForest fragmentationPredictive modelLogistic regression analysis |
| spellingShingle | Williams Agyemang-Duah Joseph Oduro Appiah Dina Adei Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve BMC Ecology and Evolution Forest patches Land use Forest reserve Forest fragmentation Predictive model Logistic regression analysis |
| title | Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve |
| title_full | Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve |
| title_fullStr | Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve |
| title_full_unstemmed | Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve |
| title_short | Protecting the patches from the footprints: examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in Atewa range forest reserve |
| title_sort | protecting the patches from the footprints examining the land use factors associated with forest patches in atewa range forest reserve |
| topic | Forest patches Land use Forest reserve Forest fragmentation Predictive model Logistic regression analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01758-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT williamsagyemangduah protectingthepatchesfromthefootprintsexaminingthelandusefactorsassociatedwithforestpatchesinatewarangeforestreserve AT josephoduroappiah protectingthepatchesfromthefootprintsexaminingthelandusefactorsassociatedwithforestpatchesinatewarangeforestreserve AT dinaadei protectingthepatchesfromthefootprintsexaminingthelandusefactorsassociatedwithforestpatchesinatewarangeforestreserve |