Assessment of Land Degradation Vulnerability in Atakumosa Area of Osun State, Nigeria

Land degradation poses a significant threat to environmental sustainability, agricultural productivity, and socio-economic stability, particularly in cities and villages where mining activities are very rampant. This study aims to assess land degradation vulnerability in Atakunmosa Area, Osun State using Geospatial techniques. By leveraging multi-temporal satellite imagery and spatial analysis techniques, the study identifies and maps degradation-prone areas based on a combination of biophysical and anthropogenic indicators, including land use/land cover (LULC), slope, modified soil adjusted vegetation indices (MSAVI), topographic wetness index (TWI), geology, soil types, soil acidity, soil texture, soil depth and drainage density. The SRTM DEM, Landsat 8 OLI, soil map, and geology map were used to create these thematic maps. Each class of these parameters was given appropriate weighting factors. Using the analytical hierarchical process, weighting factors were assigned to the different themes according to their influence to land degradation. GIS tools were utilized to integrate these spatial layers using weighted overlay analysis to produce the Land Degradation Vulnerability Index (LDVI) for the study area. The results indicated that 36.6 % (297.19 km<sup>2</sup>) of the total area was prone to high degradation risks, 17.1% (138.85 km<sup>2</sup>) was prone to moderate risks, 14.2% (115.30 km<sup>2</sup>) was prone to low risks, while 32.1% (260.65 km<sup>2</sup>) was prone to very low risks. The consistency ratio (CR) for the study was less than 0.1, which is an indication of the acceptability of the pairwise comparism. The study highlights the critical role of geospatial technologies in environmental assessment and decision-making processes.