Wetlands are among the world＇s most productive environment. They are cradles of bio-diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which large numbers of plant and animal species depend for survival. Un...Wetlands are among the world＇s most productive environment. They are cradles of bio-diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which large numbers of plant and animal species depend for survival. Unfortunately, they are also among the world＇s most threatened ecosystems, owing mainly to continued drainage, urbanization, pollution, over-exploitation or other unsustainable uses of their resources. The lack of baseline wetland inventory and limited accessibility to the available ones have been identified as major limitations for sustainable use and management of wetland resources. This study therefore utilized multispectral remote sensing data and global positioning system （GPS） for mapping and assessing the spatial pattern of wetlands, particularly the cultivated ones. The images were processed using ILWIS 3.2 Academic. The combined digital image processing and visual image interpretation were used to identify and segment wetlands in the image data. The coordinates of all identified wetlands and various anthropogenic activities on them were taken using GPS. Questionnaire forms were designed and randomly administered on the households residing around the wetland areas to enable the study to assess the anthropogenic factors, which are capable of destroying the ecosystem. The result indicated that the original size of wetlands in the study area has been modified as there has been reduction in their area extent. Various anthropogenic factors such as, the conversion of wetlands to agricultural, residential and commercial land uses were majorly responsible for the modification. In conclusion, remote sensing data and GIS technology were found useful in mapping and assessing wetlands for sustainable use.展开更多
文摘Wetlands are among the world＇s most productive environment. They are cradles of bio-diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which large numbers of plant and animal species depend for survival. Unfortunately, they are also among the world＇s most threatened ecosystems, owing mainly to continued drainage, urbanization, pollution, over-exploitation or other unsustainable uses of their resources. The lack of baseline wetland inventory and limited accessibility to the available ones have been identified as major limitations for sustainable use and management of wetland resources. This study therefore utilized multispectral remote sensing data and global positioning system （GPS） for mapping and assessing the spatial pattern of wetlands, particularly the cultivated ones. The images were processed using ILWIS 3.2 Academic. The combined digital image processing and visual image interpretation were used to identify and segment wetlands in the image data. The coordinates of all identified wetlands and various anthropogenic activities on them were taken using GPS. Questionnaire forms were designed and randomly administered on the households residing around the wetland areas to enable the study to assess the anthropogenic factors, which are capable of destroying the ecosystem. The result indicated that the original size of wetlands in the study area has been modified as there has been reduction in their area extent. Various anthropogenic factors such as, the conversion of wetlands to agricultural, residential and commercial land uses were majorly responsible for the modification. In conclusion, remote sensing data and GIS technology were found useful in mapping and assessing wetlands for sustainable use.
