Land use and land cover changes to the habitat of the endemic geladas in the escarpments of Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20153979 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Teklay Girmay (0000-0003-1515-4523, Department of Biology Adigrat University Adigrat Ethiopia, corresponding author), Araya Kiros (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Adigrat University Adigrat Ethiopia), Mihret Girmay (Department of Biology Adigrat University Adigrat Ethiopia), Tewodros Kahsay (Department of Biology Adigrat University Adigrat Ethiopia) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 427-445 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0129-7619 • E-ISSN: 1467-9493 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/sjtg.70017 |
| OpenAlex | W4412647914 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 43 |
The eastern escarpment of the Tigray region, home to geladas ( Theropithecus gelada )—a species of monkey—within the region, has lost significant areas of natural habitat through centuries of ecological changes due to many years of war and climate change. However, up to date, no study has been conducted to address the changes in the geladas’ habitat. This study aimed to detect land use land cover (LULC) changes in the habitat of geladas in the eastern escarpments of Tigray from 1998 to 2024. ERDAS Imagine 2014 and ArcGIS 10.8 softwares were used to classify current LULC types and changes in the study area from Landsat images using ground control points. Our findings showed that during the study period (1998–2024), farmland, settlements, and shrubland increased by 18.5 per cent, 207.2 per cent, and 74.7 per cent respectively. On the other hand, grazing land and forest areas decreased by 55 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively. Our study revealed that increasing areas of farmland and settlements versus decreasing areas of grazing land and forest have severely threatened the habitat of the geladas in the area, resulting in habitat fragmentation and loss. This study advocates land management strategies aimed at protecting the ecosystem in general and the geladas’ habitat in particular
Archaeology · Biology · Escarpment · Geography · Habitat · Land cover · Land use · Physical geography · Animal Diversity and Health Studies · Ecology · Forestry · Geology · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |