Evaluation of Land Use Patterns across Agro-Ecological and Slope Classes using GIS and Remote Sensing: The Case of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was aimed to identify and evaluate the land use (LU) / land cover (LC) classes as a function of slope categories by analyzing the current satellite image and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) /SRTM. In order to achieve the objectives of the study various data sources and methods were used. Very recent land sat image in combination with the ground truth data were used as the principal data source for the classification of the LU/LC and the DEM was used for the classification of the slope classes. The ground truth data of the different LU/LC and the slope data were collected through field survey using GPS and clinometer, respectively. The ground truth data was used as a reference for interpretation and the classification of the image. Supervised classification method and the Gaussian maximum likelihood classification algorithm were used and the study area was classified in to eight LU/LC classes. Similarly, ten slope categories were produced by using DEM. Finally, the classified satellite image was superimposed with the classified DEM for land use pattern evaluation, and it was found that more than 69% of the study area including very steep slopes is covered with agro-forestry system.