LAND USE COMPETITION AND CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN RIPARIAN AREAS FOR 30 YEARS (1991-2021/2022)

Abstract

This study examines land-use changes and ecosystem services in the Densu River Basin riparian zone over 30 years using LANDSAT imagery and ArcGIS10.8. The classification accuracy for 2021 was 86.14% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.854. Significant land-use changes were observed: from 1991 to 2002, forest/shrubland declined by 24.2% while arable crop land increased by
29%. From 2002 to 2021, forest/shrubland increased by 20% and arable crop land decreased by 26%. Built-up areas slightly increased by 1.2%. Interviews with 448 residents and Chi-Square analyses revealed significant decreases in food provisioning services, particularly downstream near the capital. The study recommends sustainable agriculture and urban forestry practices to
conserve forest and water resources, along with tree planting initiatives to enhance ecosystem services.