MODELING SLOPE AND ASPECT INFLUENCE ON LANDSCAPE MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE IN NDELE, RIVERS: A GIS-BASED ASSESSMENT

This study examines the complex relationships between slope, aspect, and landscape evolution. The study analyzed how slope and aspect as fundamental topographic factors significantly influence landscape evolution. The primary data was derived from extraction of DEM resolution 30m×30m LANDSAT TM– imagery downloaded from United State Geological Survey. The secondary data were gotten from simulation results carried out with digital elevation model (DEM) using Landscape Process Modeling at Multi dimensions and Scales (LAPSUS); a GIS-based Landscape Evolution Model. The findings of the study showed that the interaction between slope and aspect shaped Ndele landscape through influencing erosion patterns, landform morphology, and ecosystem dynamics. Slope angle controls erosion rates as shown that steeper slopes occur in the Northern regions of Ndele while lower, gentler slope are continually worn down with the lowest value occurring in 2016 at 40.05. Conclusively, the study findings infer that there is an inverse relationship between slope angle and soil erosion which led to structural change in the areas landscape.