Impact Of Land Use Land Cover Change On Ecosystem Service Values: The Case Of Woreda 10 Gulele Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

The ecosystem service affected by land-use and land-cover change is an important indicator and early warning of ecological change. Interest in land-use and land-cover change is driven by impacts on fundamental ecosystem characters and processes, including land productivity, biodiversity, water cycles, and climate. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the Impact of Land Use Land Cover Change on the Value of Ecosystem Services in Gulele sub-city. The study used a mixed research design and employed a range of data collection methods including preliminary surveys, field observations, questionnaire surveys, and interviews with key informants and the data sources was both primary and secondary data sources were used. The study used the 1991, 2001 and 2021 satellite imagery downloaded from the United States Geological Survey and Geographic Information System software 10.4 was used to analyze the Land Use Land Cover Changes. Accordingly, three Land Use Land Cover types: forest, open space, and settlement were identified. The results showed that settlement increased from 524.68ha to 655.38ha which was increased by 130.699ha (13.98%), while forest decreased from 407.49ha to 272.84ha or reduced by -134.6504ha (14.4%) and open space was increased from 2.65ha to 6.5ha which increased by 3.95ha (0.43%) between 1991-2021.The result of the study revealed that the urbanization and population growth were the main drivers of the land use land cover changes in the study area. In 1991, forest had the highest ESV of US$0.35, and in 2001, the ESV of forest had decreased to US$0.28 million. The ecosystem service value from 1991-2021 of forest was decreased by -0.1187$ and open space increased to 0.00096 $ million US. The study highlights the importance of implementing to minimize the loss of ecosystem service value caused by land use land cover changes. Based on the findings the recommended include increasing the community participation in conservation initiatives, identifying priority ecosystems for protection, and strengthening land management regulations. To effectively implement land use land cover change management strategies, a holistic approach that engages stakeholders and decision-makers is crucial. In the study area, it is necessary to evaluate the effect on ecosystem service values and administer land resources in a way that benefits both the neighboring communities and urban residents