Land use and land cover change and its driving forces in the Gacheb watershed Southwestern Ethiopia

Understanding the dynamic changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and the forces behind them is crucial for developing effective and sustainable land management strategies. However, the limited availability of high-resolution, socio-economic LULC assessments constrains a comprehensive understanding of the human-environment interactions driving these changes. This study analyzes and quantifies the extent and nature of LULC changes and their driving factors in the Gacheb watershed, Southwestern Ethiopia, spanning from 1984 to 2020. The maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) in the earth resource data analysis system (ERDAS) was used to conduct LULC change classification for Landsat imagery from 1984, 2002, and 2020. The study uses in-depth interviews with key informants to understand the factors driving LULC changes. The study identified five primary LULC categories: agroforestry, cultivated land, forest, settlement, and shrubland, with an overall kappa classification accuracy of 88.6% to 93%. The findings show a decrease in shrubland by 10.2% and forest land by 6.6%, while cultivated land and settlements expanded by 9.5% and 7.9%, respectively over the study period. During the entire evaluation period, LULC underwent a substantial transformation, with 7105 ha (48.5%) experiencing change. Meanwhile, 7540 ha (51.5%) remained unchanged. The major identified driving forces of LULC change were population growth, wood extraction for fuel and charcoal, cultivated land expansion, and urban and infrastructure development. Therefore, it is crucial to develop land-use policies and management strategies to control the uncontrolled expansion of cultivated land and settlements.