Landuse/Landcover and Climate Change Interaction in the Derived Savannah Region of Nigeria

The interaction of landuse/Landcover (LULC) and climate change, to a large extent, involves anthropogenic activities. This study was carried out in the derived savannah of Nigeria, a delicate ecological zone where the interaction of LULC and climate change could be well appreciated. The study evaluated coupled interaction between LULC and climate change and assessed the changes in the landuse/landcover patterns for the periods 1972, 1986, 2002 and 2010, evaluated the present (1941 - 2010) and future (2011 - 2050) variability in rainfall patterns and an attempt was made to predict the interaction between LULC and climate change during future climate. The study adopted remote sensing and GIS techniques, land change modeller and multivariate statistics The results suggest that the built up area, farmland, waterbody and woodland experienced a rapid increase of about 1,134.69%, 1,202.85%, 631.51% and 188.09%, respectively, while the forest cover, degraded surfaces and grassland lost about 19.32%, 72.76% and 0.05% respectively between 1972 and 2010. Furthermore, the study predicted 40.28% and 37.84% reduction in the forested area between 1986 and 2050 and 2010 and 2050 respectively. The study concludes that rainfall will be the major driver of LULC change within the study area under a future climate.