TITLE:
Assessment of Forest Reserve Deforestation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Idris Halima Ohunene, Matthew Olumide Adepoju, Godstime Kadiri James, Victor Taiwo Salami, Ademuyiwa Oyewumi, Ernest Afogbon, Belinda Odia, Mahmood Musa Mahmood, Idris Shehu, Mai Bukar Adama, Sultan Kamal Abdulazeez, Mustapha Sanusi, Anita Malgwi Galadima, Abdullahi Sumaiyat Kpanja, Aniya Udya, Odeh Augustine Abah, Zuwaira Isah, Salawudeen Fatima, Bako Ibrahim, Oriola Halimat Ifedolapo, Emmanuel Dolly Nkere, Godwin Urom, Yahaya Ilemona, Bitrus Darwang Samson, Agyo Tsonde Ismailu
KEYWORDS:
Deforestation, Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), Remote Sensing, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Forest Reserves
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.4,
April
9,
2026
ABSTRACT: Forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Specifically, forests purify the air, filter water supplies, control floods and erosion, sustain biodiversity and genetic resources. In addition, they also provide recreation, cultural enrichment and educational services. Globally, there has been a significant decline in forest resources. The reduction of forest may involve individual trees of a given species at a given geographical coverage, site or specific species throughout its range or within an ecosystem. The causes of the reduction in forests are not evident due to complex interactions that need careful examination according to clear diagnostic criteria. This study evaluated deforestation in the Federal Capital Territory forest reserves and changes in land use/land cover changes over a 31-year period. The assessment of land use/land cover change using remote sensing data provides information for decision support systems. This information can support land conservation strategies, management of forest resources and enhance sustainable development. The purpose of the study was to identify changes in land use and land cover in the Federal Capital Territory forest reserves. To achieve this, satellite image processing techniques were employed to four epochs of 1990, 2001, 2013, and 2021 utilizing Landsat images. The results from this study revealed a significant reduction in forest reserves over the past 31 years, primarily due to anthropogenic activities. However, it was also observed that some forests areas have increased between 2013 and 2021 due to heightened insecurity in those locations. The results obtained from this study emphasized the necessity to enhance forest conservation mechanisms, as forests play a critical role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and providing various other ecosystem services.