Land Change Science: Understanding the complexity of monitoring protected areas in savanna ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Land Change Science (LCS), as a coupled human-environment system, is a multidisciplinary area that explores the dynamics of land use and land cover to understand key theories, problems, methodologies, and model applications. The present review integrated the research that have been conducted in the savanna ecosystem of Sub-Saharan Africa from a geographical perspective. The present study elaborates contemporary issues and thoughts in terms of several key aspects: (1) Impacts of protected areas on the surrounding natural environment, wildlife, and socio-economic activities of humans, (2) with the impact of new developments in remote sensing (RS) technology, observations of land change and the changes in the relationship between ecology and RS, (3) the effects of developments in RS on our environmental perspective and new connection opportunities for interrelated scientific disciplines, (4) the vulnerability of the savanna vegetation due to its multilayered and complex structure. Due to the changing climatic conditions, it is inevitable that ecosystems will encounter various problems in the near future, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the complex savanna ecosystem remains a challenge for researchers. Therefore, it is very essential to observe better and understand the nature and socio-economic cycle of human for a sustainable future of savanna ecosystems.

Keywords

• Land Change Science
• Remote Sensing
• Protected Areas
• Land use and land cover change
• African Savanna Ecosystems

Arazi Değişim Bilimi: Sahra Altı Afrika’daki savan ekosistemlerinde korunan alanları uzaktan algılama ile gözlemlemenin zorluklarını anlamak

Öz

Bütünleşik bir insan-çevre sistemi olarak Arazi Değişim Bilimi (ADB), temel teorileri, sorunları, metodolojileri ve model uygulamaları anlamak için arazi kullanımı ve arazi örtüsünün dinamiklerini araştıran multidisipliner bir bilim dalıdır. Derleme şeklindeki bu çalışma Sahra Altı Afrika’daki savan ekosistemi bölgelerinde bugüne kadar yapılmış olan çalışmaları bir araya getirerek coğrafi bir perspektif çerçevesinde incelemektedir. Yapılan çalışmada; (1) Sahra Altı Afrika’da, korunan alanların, bu alanların sınırlarındaki insan yaşamı ve onların sosyo-ekonomik faaliyetlerin yanı sıra doğal çevre ve vahşi yaşam üzerinde önemli ölçüde etkiye sahip olduğunun anlaşılmaktadır. (2) ADB alanında uzaktan algılama (UZAL) teknolojisindeki yeni gelişmeler, arazi değişimi gözlemlerinin yanı sıra ekoloji ve UZAL arasındaki ilişkiyi de etkilemektedir. (3) UZAL teknolojisi ekolojik perspektif bilgimizi geliştirdiği gibi aynı zamanda birbiriyle ilişkili teknolojisi ekolojik perspektif bilgimizi geliştirdiği gibi aynı zamanda birbiriyle ilişkili bilimsel disiplinlerle bağlantı kurmak için yeni fırsatlar da yaratmıştır. (4) Savan bitki örtüsü, katmanlı ve karmaşık yapısı nedeniyle diğer birçok ekosistemden çok daha kırılgandır. Bu nedenle, değişen iklim koşulları ve çevresel değişimler nedeniyle özellikle Sahra Altı Afrika’da ekosistemlerin yakın gelecekte çeşitli sorunlarla karşılaşması kaçınılmazdır. ADB’deki yeni gelişmelere rağmen bu karmaşık ekosistemi anlamak araştırmacılar için bir zorluk teşkil etmeye devam etmektedir. Dolayısıyla savan ekosistemlerinde sürdürülebilir bir gelecek için doğal yaşam ve sosyo-ekonomik döngüyü daha iyi gözlemlemek ve anlamak oldukça önemlidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Arazi Değişim Bilimi
• Arazi kullanımı ve arazi örtüsü değişimi
• Korunan Alanlar
• Afrika Savan Ekosistemleri
• Uzaktan Algılama

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