Land Cover Change in Parts of Kaduna Nigeria

A comprehensive work has not been published to specifically address the issues of spatial and temporal mapping and assessment of land cover changes using principle component analysis of remotely sensed data: Land Cover Changes in Parts of Kaduna Nigeria uniquely fills this niche. The Kaduna is of extensive landmass and abundant natural resources which support people's livelihood. The evidences of land cover changes revealed the dynamic growth of settlements. The conversions of land from agriculture to urban land are the most significant land cover changes. The trend and extent change of settlements is likely to continue with the rapid increasing of population. The current pattern needs to be managed through effective land use planning and management in order to protect the fertile agricultural land in the area and further reduce degradation of the vegetation covers and stress on water resources. The mapping of the spatial and temporal land cover changes in a GIS platform can be used to supplement the available tools for environmental management.