The Effects of Urbanization on Wetland Ecosystem and Aquatic Biodiversity in Makurdi Metropolis, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13996596Keywords:
Aquatic ecosystem, Biodiversity Conservation, human settlement, wetlandAbstract
Wetland ecosystems provide multiple benefits to human settlements, nonetheless, they are threatened by human activities associated mainly with urban growth. Therefore, the study assessed the impact of urbanization on wetlands in the Makurdi metropolis on aquatic biodiversity conservation through focus group discussion and satellite imageries. Three multi-date Landsat satellite imageries, TM of 1985, ETM+ 2000, and OLI 2020, were utilized to generate data, analyze, and monitor changes that have occurred over time and space. The Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) was adopted to extract built-up features within the study locations with indices ranging from -1 to 1. The extent of land use change (urbanization) was analyzed by subtracting the reference year (2020) from the base year. The highest rate of urban growth was observed during the third period of urbanization (2000 to 2020) in which the built-up area increased more than twice by 163.69km2 (19.81%) over wetlands. The magnitude of change in wetland areas for 35 years between 1985 and 2020 showed that wetlands decreased by -26.41 km2 representing a change (-42.97%) of the total change for the period. Wetland had an annual rate of change of -15.04% within the study years while cultivated land had the least annual rate of change (3.30%). This indicates that there was rapid urbanization in the study area between 2000 and 2020 compared to 1985 and 2000. Wetland ecosystems are under pressure in the area, and thus, have a detrimental effect on the aquatic biodiversity of the study area, through displacement, decrease, and death of aquatic species such as Crocodylusniloticus, Trichechussenegalensis, crabs, and water snails. Human activities that degrade wetlands should be reduced, restricted, or regulated.
References
Ajibola, M. O., Adewale, B. A., &Ijasan, K. C. (2012). Effects of urbanization on Lagos wetlands. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(17), 310-318.
Belachew, G. E., Workiye, W. A. (2021). Anthropogenic effect on wetland biodiversity in Lake Tana Region: A case of Infranz Wetland, Northwestern Ethiopia, Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 12 (2021) 100158
Chen, J. (2007). Rapid urbanization in China: a real challenge to soil protection and food security. Catena 69, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2006.04.019.
Chidi, O. H., Ominigbo, O. E. (2010). Climate change and coastal wetland: Nigeria in Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Issues.7(2), 216-223.
Coppin, P., Jonckheere, I., Nackaerts, K., Muys, B., and Lambin, E. (2004). Review ArticleDigital change detection methods in ecosystem monitoring: a review. International journal of remote sensing, 25(9), 1565-1596.
Escalera-Vázquez, L. H., Zambrano, L. (2010). The effect of seasonal variation in abiotic factors on fish community structure in temporary and permanent pools in a tropical wetland.Freshwater Biology, 55, 2557–2569.
Ikusemoran, M., Olokor, J. O. (2014). Monitoring the land-use and vegetation cover changes in the Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria (1975-2006). African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 8(2), 129-142.
Jensen, J. R. (2000). Remote Sensing of the Environment: an Earth Resource Perspective. Prentice-Hall: Saddle River, NJ, USA.
Johnson, P. T. J., Hoverman, J. T., McKenzie, V. J., Blaustein, A. R., Richgels K. L. D. (2013). Urbanization and wetland communities: applying metacommunity theory to understand the local and landscape effects. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50, 34-42.
Johnson Marc, T. J., Munshi-South, J. (2017). Evolution of life in urban environment. Science 358(6363): eaam8327. https://doi.org/10.1126/science:aam8327.
Ma, S., Wang, H. Y., Wang, L. J., Jiang, J., Gong, J. W., Wu, S., Luo, G. Y. (2022). Evaluation and simulation of landscape evolution and its ecological effects under vegetation restoration in the northern sand prevention belt, China. CATENA 218, 106555.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106555
Mansur, A. M. (2021). Urbanization Effects on Wetland Ecosystem in Parts of Niger State, Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation) FUTMinna Institutional Repository.http://repository.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/14311
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2015). Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing: synthesis Island Press, Washington DC. 155.
Rojas, C., Einer, S., Felipe, J., Juan, M., Joan, P. (2022). Accessibility disturbances to the biodiversity of urban wetlands due to built environment, City and Environment Interactions. 1-13.
Tyubee, B. T. (2005). Influence of Extreme Climate in Communal Disputes in Tivland of Benue State. Paper Presented during the Conference on Conflicts in Benue Valley, 16-17 March, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria.
Tyubee, B. T., Anyadike, R. N. C. (2015). Investigating the Effect of Land Use/Land Cover on Urban Surface Temperature in Makurdi, Nigeria. Paper Presented at the ICUC9 – 9th International Conference on Urban Climate Jointly with 12th Symposium on the Urban Environment, 20-24 July, Toulouse, France.
Uluocha, N. O., Okeke, I. C. (2014). Implications of wetlands degradation for water resources management. Lessons from Nigeria. Geography Journal, 61, 151-154.
Wali, E. (2015). Urbanization and loss of wetland in Port-Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria, MSc Thesis submitted to the school of Postgraduate Studies and the Department of Geography, University of Nigeria, Nsukka in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Award of Masters of Science Degree in Geography (Environmental management) 78-80.
Wang, S., Hu, M., Wang, Y., Xia, B., (2022). Dynamics of ecosystem services in response to
Urbanization across temporal and spatial scales in a mega metropolitan area. Sustain. Cities Soc. 77, 103561 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103561
Xiaomian Z., Jun W., Chunlei Y., Shuai M.Luyao H., Liang-Jie W. (2023). Impact of wetland change on ecosystem services in different urbanization stages: A case study in the Hang-Jia-Hu region, China, Ecological Indicators 153 (2023) 110382
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Sustainability and Biodiversity Conservation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
