Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for oth... more Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year and About half of the world's tropical forests have been cleared according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (2013). Forests currently cover about 30 percent of the world`s land mass (National Geographic). Forest loss contributes between 12 percent and 17 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions (World Resources Institute 2011). Deforestation is considered to be one of the contributing factors to global climate change, Trees absorb greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. They produce oxygen and perpetuate the water cycle by releasing water vapor into the atmosphere. Without trees, forest lands can quickly become barren land. Deforestation has become a major environmental issue in the world today especially in sub Saharan Africa where forest wood is worth more to people dead than alive, Thus, the forest estate is constantly depleted for use as fuel wood, paper wood and even for the charcoal industry. Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests according to revised deforestation figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Between 2000 and 2005 the country lost 55.7 percent of its primary forests as a result of logging, subsistence agriculture, and the collection of fuel wood (FAO, 2008). That our Climate is changing is no longer NEWS, That greenhouse gases and co are responsible is also not NEWS, However, rather than explain greenhouse gases and Co2 to our farmers and local population, this research intends to educate them on how their local actions like deforestation, bush burning are modifying the climate. Changes in forest cover extent will be studied for 35 years with a 10 year time step using satellite images obtained from United States Geological Survey archive and ArcGIS 10.2 image analyst software, while climatic parameters for the study area (Rainfall and temperature) will also be analyzed using trendline equation for the same period. The results depicted the rate of changes in land use in Ilorin from between 1972 to 2014 as well as the rate of forest depletion in the study area showing that forest have given way to built-up areas, and grassland in most areas and this is substantiated by the analysis of land surface temperature which shows an increase in urban land surface temperature due to reduction of area extent to forested areas and grasslands. The time series analysis carried out on the climatic variables in Ilorin also shows an increase in temperature as well as a corresponding decline in rainfall amount in the study area lending credence to the fact that over exploitation of forest resources in the study area without recourse to reforesting is leading to an all-round change in the climate pattern, where land surface temperature and atmospheric temperature are on the rise and rainfall is on the decline with rain days reduced drastically and the climatic calendar being altered almost on a yearly basis now
Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for oth... more Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year and About half of the world's tropical forests have been cleared according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (2013). Forests currently cover about 30 percent of the world`s land mass (National Geographic). Forest loss contributes between 12 percent and 17 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions (World Resources Institute 2011). Deforestation is considered to be one of the contributing factors to global climate change, Trees absorb greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. They produce oxygen and perpetuate the water cycle by releasing water vapor into the atmosphere. Without trees, forest lands can quickly become barren land. Deforestation has become a major environmental issue in the world today especially in sub Saharan Africa where forest wood is worth more to people dead than alive, Thus, the forest estate is constantly depleted for use as fuel wood, paper wood and even for the charcoal industry. Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests according to revised deforestation figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Between 2000 and 2005 the country lost 55.7 percent of its primary forests as a result of logging, subsistence agriculture, and the collection of fuel wood (FAO, 2008). That our Climate is changing is no longer NEWS, That greenhouse gases and co are responsible is also not NEWS, However, rather than explain greenhouse gases and Co2 to our farmers and local population, this research intends to educate them on how their local actions like deforestation, bush burning are modifying the climate. Changes in forest cover extent will be studied for 35 years with a 10 year time step using satellite images obtained from United States Geological Survey archive and ArcGIS 10.2 image analyst software, while climatic parameters for the study area (Rainfall and temperature) will also be analyzed using trendline equation for the same period. The results depicted the rate of changes in land use in Ilorin from between 1972 to 2014 as well as the rate of forest depletion in the study area showing that forest have given way to built-up areas, and grassland in most areas and this is substantiated by the analysis of land surface temperature which shows an increase in urban land surface temperature due to reduction of area extent to forested areas and grasslands. The time series analysis carried out on the climatic variables in Ilorin also shows an increase in temperature as well as a corresponding decline in rainfall amount in the study area lending credence to the fact that over exploitation of forest resources in the study area without recourse to reforesting is leading to an all-round change in the climate pattern, where land surface temperature and atmospheric temperature are on the rise and rainfall is on the decline with rain days reduced drastically and the climatic calendar being altered almost on a yearly basis now
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