Land use and Land cover Change Analysis and Its Implications for Conservation Planning in the Agumatsa Range, Ghana

Abstract

Tropical montane landscapes in West Africa are undergoing rapid land-use and land-cover (LULC) transformation, with cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study quantified multi-decadal LULC dynamics in the Agumatsa Range, Ghana, an Important Bird Area and a critical forest-savanna ecotone, using supervised classification of Landsat imagery (1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020). Five classes (closed-canopy forest, open canopy, dense shrub/herbaceous, grassland/herbaceous, and bare surface/built-up) were outlined, yielding a Kappa coefficient of 0.86. Over 30 years, closed-canopy forest declined sharply from 51.0% to 31.0% (a net loss of 20 percentage points, 30 km²), while bare surface/built-up areas increased from 2.0% to 18.0%. Dense shrub/herbaceous cover expanded from 5.5% to 16.0%, signaling widespread secondary succession following selective logging and shifting cultivation. Change-detection maps revealed upslope retreat and fragmentation of closed-canopy forest, with the most pronounced conversion occurring between 2010 and 2020 in the highly disturbed area. These patterns align with intensified anthropogenic pressures (agriculture, road expansion, peri-urban development) amplified by climate variability. The observed degradation gradient has direct implications for biodiversity conservation. The findings underscore the urgency of landscape-scale conservation planning, including riparian buffers, enrichment planting, assisted natural regeneration, and community-based resource management (CREMAs), to reverse forest loss and sustain biodiversity in this unique hotspot.