ANALYSIS OF VEGETATION COVER CHANGES USING NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX (NDVI) IN BIRNIN KEBBI, NIGERIA

Abstract

Vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby mitigating the impact of global warming and climate change and also preventing desertification. In Nigeria, desertification poses a threat to the livelihoods of numerous communities, particularly in the northern region. Consequently, this study focused on the analysis of the changes in the vegetation cover in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Nigeria, from 1994 to 2021, using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This was with a view to projecting further changes the next decade through simple linear regression. The results indicate an irregular pattern of vegetation change. The NDVI maximum values decreased from 0.442 in 1994 to 0.411 2002. However, between 2002 and 2021, the values increased from 0.411 to 0.496, revealing a general vegetation increase of 4.01% over 27 years. Although, a gradual decline in vegetation cover occurred between 1994 and 2002, the vegetation cover in 2021 showed an improvement. Overall, the study revealed an irregular pattern of vegetation change. The projected vegetation changes showed that Very-LowDense Vegetation will increase by 4.72%, Low-Dense Vegetation will increase by 1.45%, and High-Dense Vegetation will increase by 0.76%, while Moderate-Dense Vegetation will decline by -0.53%. This trend indicated that natural vegetation growth is limited and therefore recommended continued afforestation efforts which play a pivotal role in fostering vegetal growth in the study area. Keywords: