Vegetation dynamics on the fringes of lowland humid tropical rainforest of south-western Nigeria - an assessment of environmental change with air photos and Landsat TM

This paper is an attempt to assess the changes taking place in the vegetation communities found on the fringes of tropical rainforest in Nigeria over a 28-year period. The study made use of aerial photographs (1963 and 1973) and Landsat TM (1991). Landsat TM was digitally analysed, while aerial photos were subjected to an analogue procedure. The results show that the forest community receded at an annual rate of 1.90 % between 1963 and 1991, while regressive succession was already in progress in the area. The intensity of agricultural activity was noted to have made the area vulnerable to savanna incursion. This paper highlights the prospects and problems of using remote sensing techniques in surveying Africa's rural landscape with its bewildering complexities. Some policy recommendations are suggested in the paper.