MAPPING LAND-USE TRANSITIONS IN KILAKALA AREA: A REMOTE SENSING PERSPECTIVE

Remote Sensing

The Kilakala area, located in the Municipality of Morogoro, Tanzania, is mainly elevated and situated on the slopes of the Uluguru Mountains. However, the rapid pace of urbanization has resulted in the problem of vegetation and water land use encroachment in this area, which has caused significant changes in the land use patterns over the years. In this regard, a comprehensive study was conducted to create a detailed land use and cover map for the Kilakala area, which could help assess the changes in the area from 1994 to 2018. To create this map, two primary sources of information were used. Firstly, Landsat 5 imagery and a topographical map of the Kilakala area (Topo Sheet number E6-2) were used. Secondly, a high-resolution satellite image captured in 2018 was used to obtain the necessary information. Furthermore, the Geographical Information System (GIS) was integrated into the study to understand better the changes that had taken place in the area. The classification results indicated a general trend of increasing built-up areas and declining areas covered by water, vegetation, and bareland land uses. Therefore, the study concluded that built-up land cover has expanded at the expense of vegetation, water, and bareland land covers, which has resulted in significant changes in land use patterns in the Kilakala area. This variation implies that the information on Kilakala land uses, including the 1994 base map, still currently used for land use planning, is no longer adequate without revision.

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