Title: Land use/land cover dynamics and its future scenarios in Luando Reserve, Angola

Authors: Edwin Imfumu; Albert Orodena Aweto

Addresses: Department of Environmental Management, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, Pan African University, 200132, Ibadan, Nigeria ' Department of Geography, University of Ibadan, Ibadanm 200284, Nigeria

Abstract: Anthropogenic activities modify biophysical environment and affect ecological balance and the human population. The paper analysed the dynamic patterns and trend of land use/cover (LULC) changes in Luando Reserve (LR) for 45 years and predicted its future scenarios for the next 20 years. Remotely sensed data, particularly Landsat imageries for 1975, 1990, 2005 and 2020 were processed, classified and analysed using GIS. Markov-CA model was used to predict future scenarios of LULC dynamic for 2040. Major LULC classes identified included waterbody, wetland, forest, grassland, farmland and settlement. Findings indicated that LR underwent an increase in farmland, settlement, waterbody and wetland areas, and a significant decrease in forest area. The projection for 2,040 indicated that the actual LULCC trend will continue in the next 20 years, with a worrying decrease of 7.1% in the forest area. Settlement and agricultural expansion are the major threats to biodiversity expansion in LR.

Keywords: Angola; change detection; land use/land cover change; LULCC; Luando Reserve.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2025.145599

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2025 Vol.17 No.1, pp.71 - 87

Received: 12 Oct 2021
Received in revised form: 03 Jul 2022
Accepted: 27 Oct 2022
Published online: 09 Apr 2025 *

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