Impacts of land use land cover change on ecosystem services of Hoto area, Gofa zone, South Ethiopia

Ecosystems provide critical services essential for human well-being and environmental sustainability. This study examines the impacts of land use land cover (LULC) dynamics on ecosystem service values (ESVs) in Hoto area, South Ethiopia, from 1993 to 2023. Using multispectral Landsat imagery, analyzed with ERDAS IMAGINE 2014 and ArcGIS 10.8, six LULC classes were identified: barren land, forest, grazing land, farmland, shrubland, and settlement. The analysis reveals a significant decline in forest cover (from 24.9% to 11%, net loss of 55.69%) and grazing land (from 13.5% to 9.9%), alongside expansions in settlement (from 4.6% to 7.0%), barren land (from 2.1% to19.5%), and shrubland. Total ESVs decreased from US$ 4.35 million in 1993 to US$ 3.33 million in 2023, driven primarily by deforestation, overgrazing, and land degradation, which impaired key services like food production, water regulation, and erosion control. The decline was most pronounced in regulating services (-29.4%), which dominated the total ESV. Overall, these findings underscore the urgent need for targeted policy interventions, including reforestation of degraded lands, promotion of sustainable agroforestry, protection of remaining forest patches, and regulating grazing to restore critical ecosystem services and to improve local livelihoods in the study area.