Table 1 Description of land cover classes used for analysis of change between 1985, 2000 and 2016
Land cover type | Description |
|---|---|
Dense forest | All lands with tree cover of canopy density over 40% [34] |
Open forest | All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 10 and 40% [34] |
Cultivated land | Areas of land prepared for growing agricultural crops. This category includes areas currently under crop and land under preparation |
Bare land | Areas with little or no “green” vegetation present due to erosion, overgrazing and crop cultivation |
Grassland | Lands covered by herbaceous plants with coverage greater than 5% and land mixed rangeland with the coverage of shrub canopies less than 10% [35]. Among the herbaceous species, Cynodon dactylon and Pennisetum petiolar had greater frequencies in the study area |