Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Implications for Carbon Stock in the Savannah Agroecological Zone: A Case Study of Yamaltu-Deba LGA, Northeast Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47514/kjg.2026.08.01.031Abstract
Unsustainable land-use management in Sub-Saharan Africa has been a major cause of soil-plant carbon instability, especially in savannah agroecological zones. About two-thirds of Nigeria’s landmass is covered with savannah, especially northern region. This study aims to quantify carbon stock capacity per hectare with respect to vegetation classification in Nigeria’s northeast agroecological zone, specifically the savannah. Five land use variables, made up of low forest, savannah, grassland, water body, and no vegetation, were adopted. Study area Landsat images with a periodic interval of ten (10) years were downloaded for four (4) decades: 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. Image calculations were used to generate a vegetation cover change map, and area coverage in hectares was multiplied by the previous estimated carbon stock of 60.01 Mg ha-1 for low forest, 32.66 Mg ha-1 for savannah, and 18.22 Mg ha-1 for grassland. While the low forest and grassland drastically reduced, the savannah tremendously increased. The study recommends afforestation policies, adoption of nitrogen fixing tree for farmland and boundary demarcation, and creation of a carbon stock sequestration database for the savannah agroecological zone.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Olusola Afolayan, Ahmed Bello Yero, Hassan Umar (Author)
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