| dc.description.abstract | The upper Rwizi river system in South Western Uganda has been severely
degraded due to encroachment and unsustainable resource utilization. Little is,
however, known about the link between the upper Rwizi macro-watershed health
and land use/cover patterns from the spatiotemporal perspective. This study evalu ated the relationship between spatiotemporal land use/ cover change and upper
river Rwizi macro watershed health. Remotely sensed data was used to analyze the
spatiotemporal land use and cover distribution for upper Rwizi macro watershed.
The analysis was done using Landsat and Sentinel imagery datasets spanning 1990
to 2020 and 2016 to 2021 respectively. Field verification was undertaken to confirm
the land use, cover types, and evaluate the implications of prevailing anthropogenic
activities on the watershed health. The land use and cover characteristics in the
upper Rwizi macro-watershed exhibits both highly spatial and temporal variations.
By 1990, grassland as the dominant land use and cover type spanned 45% of the
total study area followed by farmland at 30%. Forests, open water and settlements
covered 12%, 10% and 3% respectively. Whereas grassland and forest cover has
diminished drastically by 64% and 71% respectively, settlements and farmland have
increased tremendously by 79% and 50% respectively between 1990 and 2020. The
hillslope hydrological characteristics in the watershed are severely hampered due to
increased human activities. It is, therefore, recommended that afforestation in the
degraded areas be undertaken to restore the watershed health which could improve
on hillslope hydrology. | en_US |
