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† Corresponding author 
© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 

 

LAND USE/LAND COVER DYNAMICS IN HULET WOGEDAMEA KEBELE, 

NORTHERN ETHIOPIA  

 

Temesgen Gashaw1† --- Tigabu Dinkayoh2 

1Center for Environmental Science, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Abeba University, Ethiopia 

2Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Adigrat University, Ethiopia 

 

ABSTRACT 

The objective of the study was to evaluate the land use/land cover dynamics of Hulet Wogedamea Kebele, 

Northern Ethiopia. Landsat 5 TM 1985 and Landsat 7 ETM+ 2011 were used for the study. Global 

positioning system and topographical maps of scale 1:50,000 for ground verification; field observations to 

take ground control points; 20 farming household’s interview to get additional information; ERDAS 

Imagine 9.1 and ArcGIS 9.3 software for satellite image processing and data analysis were used. The 

collected data was analyzed mainly using quantitative method.  However, results of farming household’s 

interview were discussed in line with the quantitative data. The result reveled that there was an expansion 

of cultivated land and degraded land by 12.8 and 2.58 ha per year respectively from 1985 to 2011 at the 

expense of forest, shrub and grazing lands. Thus, proper cultivation of the land with appropriate 

implementation of soil fertility management measures and afforestation and reforestation activities are 

recommended.  

Keywords: Land use, Land cover, Dynamics, Change analysis. 

 

Contribution/ Originality 

This paper is original and contributes for the existing literature in Northern Ethiopia by 

taking Hulet Wogedamea Kebele. 

 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Land use and land cover (LU/LC) change is a locally pervasive and globally significant 

ecological trend and has become an event of paramount importance to the study of global 

environmental change [1]. Chen [2] noted that the environmental impact associated with 

LU/LC is as large as that of climate change. LU/LC change contributes significantly to earth 

Current Research in Agricultural Sciences 
2015 Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 36-41 
ISSN(e): 2312-6418 
ISSN(p): 2313-3716 
DOI: 10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.36.41 
© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 
 
 
 
 

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.18488/journal.68/2015.2.1/68.1.36.41


Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 

 

 
37 

© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

atmosphere interactions, forest fragmentation and biodiversity loss [3]. LU/LC dynamics 

including forest cover change is one of the major environmental problems in Ethiopia. In relation 

to this, recent studies showed that land cover change is brutal and there has been agricultural 

land size expansion at the expense of natural vegetation cover lands and marginal areas without 

any appropriate conservation measures [4-6]. LU/LC change studies have become one of the 

major issues for environmental change monitoring and natural resource management [3]. 

Effective utilization of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and  remote sensing (RS) 

facilitate LU/LC studies, change assessment and trend forecasting, rational land use planning, 

sustainable management of land and environmental production [7]. Thus, the main purpose of 

this study was to examine the overall LU/LC dynamics of the study area using GIS and remote 

sensing techniques.   

 

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 

2.1. Study Area 

This study was conducted in Hulet Wogedamea Kebele, Northern Ethiopia, which is located 

between the coordinates of 12° 84' - 12° 99' N latitude and 34° 80' - 35° 85' E longitude. Its 

altitude ranges from 2002- 2487m above sea level, and significant difference in altitude can be 

observed even in a short distance. The area is classified into Dega (Temperate) and Woinadega 

(Sub-tropical)agro-climatic zones which encompasses 35% and 65% of the area respectively. 

Agriculture is the major economic activity which is characterized by rain-fed and predominantly 

subsistence nature. The dominant vegetation type includes: Eucalyptus species, Croton 

macrostachyus, Juniperus procera, Cordia africana and Ficus vasta. 

 

2.2. Data Collection 

The study was conducted using Landsat 5 TM 1985 and Landsat 7 ETM+ 2011. Global 

Positioning System (GPS) and topographical maps of scale 1:50,000 were used for ground 

verification (Table 1). Field observations to take ground control points and farming household’s 

interview to get additional information were also conducted.  Interview was conducted on 

randomly selected 20 farming households. 

 

Table-1. Types of landsat and toposheet used in the study 

Image Path Row Sensor Resolution or 
Scale 

No of 
Bands 

Date of 
acquisition 

Source 

Landsat5 169 52 TM 30 X 30 7 25/12/1985 GLCF 
Landsat7 169 52 ETM + 30 X 30 8 12/1/2011 GLCF 
Toposheet   1:50,000   EMA 

 

2.3. Image Processing 

Image classification was undertaken using hybrid classification method involving both 

unsupervised and supervised techniques. Among different classification algorithms, maximum 



Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 

 

 
38 

© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

likelihood was used for supervised classification by taken 55 ground control points for five major 

LU/LC class categories (11 ground control points for each LU/LC class) (Figure 1). The major 

LU/LC types were identified with the help of visual interpretation elements and the different 

reflection characteristics of the features in the satellite images of 1985 and 2011. These include 

forest, shrub, grass, cultivated and degraded land. The classification legend was made based on 

spectral characteristics of the land cover types (Table 2).  

Table-2. Description of LU/LC classes (Adopted from Abate [8]) 

LU/LC classes Description 

Cultivated land Areas allotted to rain fed and irrigated cultivation, including fallow plots, 
cultivated land mixed with some bushes, trees and the scattered rural 
settlements included within the cultivated fields. 

Forest land  Areas covered by trees forming closed or nearly closed canopies; Forest; 
Plantation forest; Dense (50-80% crown cover). 

Shrub land  Land covered by small trees, bushes, and shrubs, in some cases mixed with 
grasses; less dense than forests.     

Grazing land Areas of land where small grasses are the predominant natural vegetation 
usually used for grazing. 

Degraded land  Are parts of the land surface which is mainly covered by bare soil and 
exposed rocks. 

 

Figure-1. Flow chart of LU/LC classification (Adopted from Temesgen, et al. [6]) 



Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 

 

 
39 

© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 2.4. Accuracy Assessment  

Accuracy assessment was done on the recent satellite image (Landsat7 ETM+ 2011) for which 

the ground control points are likely corresponding. Accordingly, an overall accuracy of 93.02% with 

a Kappa coefficient of 0.8083 was achieved. 

 

2.5. Data Analysis  

The rate of change was calculated for each LU/LC class [8] as Rate of change (ha/year) = 

(A-B)/C  

Where: A = Recent area of LU/LC in ha, B = Previous area of LU/LC in ha, C = Time 

interval between A and B in years 

 

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Forest, shrub and grazing lands were diminished with the average diminishing rate of 4.52, 

5.28 and 5.09 ha per year respectively within 26 years (Table 3). Contrarily, cultivated and 

degraded land stretched extensively with the annual expansion rate of 12.28 and 2.58 ha per 

yearover the same period respectively. The expansion of forest land in 2011 image in the north 

and northwestern direction is due to the plantation of Juniperus procera during the Derg regime in 

1989. In addition after 1989, there was an increasing expansion of Eucalyptus trees in different 

parts of the study area (Figure 2) for gaining better economic benefit. However, there is a general 

demolition of forest land during the study periods. This is due to the fast conversion of natural 

forest land into shrub and cultivated land. Similar with this finding, a study conducted byBelay 

[9],Amsalu, et al. [4], Gessesse and Kleman [5], Messay [10], Judith [11], Temesgen, et al. 

[6] and Temesgen and Tesfahun [12] indicated that there has been agricultural land size 

expansion at the expense of natural vegetation cover lands. Contrary to this finding, a study 

conducted by Tesfahun and Temesgen [13] in Southern Ethiopia revealed that annual cereal 

crop, mixed and woodland were declining. While, perennial crop land and settlement land were 

increasing. 

 

Table-3. LU/LC dynamics (1985 and 2011) 

LU/LC 
class 

1985 2011 Change 
in ha 
b/n 
1985-
2011  

Rate of 
change in 
ha/year  
b/n 
1985-2011 

Percentage 
change 
(1985-
2011) 

Area (ha)     % Area (ha)      %  

Forest  486.09 11.56 368.55 8.77 -117.54 -4.52 -24.18% 
Shrub 563.67 13.41 427.05 10.16 -136.62 -5.25 -24.24% 
Grass  547.92 13.03 415.62 9.89 -132.3 -5.09 -24.14% 
Cultivated  2485.8 59.13 2805.12 66.73 +319.32 +12.28 +12.8% 

Degraded  120.15 2.86 187.29 4.45 +67.14 +2.58 +55.9% 
Total  4203.63 99.99 4203.63 100 4203.63   



Current Research in Agricultural Sciences, 2015, 2(1): 36-41 

 

 
40 

© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

 

Figure-2. LU/LC map of 1985 and 2011 

 

4. CONCLUSION  

Analysis of LU/LC dynamics using GIS and remote sensing techniques portrayed that there 

was an expansion of cultivated and degraded land at the expense of forest, shrub and grazing land 

between 1985 and 2011. Thus, proper cultivation of the land with appropriate implementation of 

soil fertility management measures and afforestation and reforestation activities are 

recommended. 

 

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[2] K. Chen, "An approach to linking remotely sensed data and areal census data," International Journal 

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conditions in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau in Northern Shaanxi, China," Catena, vol. 36, pp. 

69–78, 2000. 



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© 2015 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. 

[4] A. Amsalu, S. Leo, and G. Jan de, "Long-term dynamics in land resource use and the driving forces 

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