Spatial-temporal dynamics of the urban forest in Central Division, Kampala city, Uganda
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21835552 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Padde (0009-0008-9387-5987, Makerere University, corresponding author), Justine Namaalwa (0000-0002-1250-5503, Makerere University), Daniel Waiswa (Makerere University), Gordon Y Mwesigwa (0000-0002-9650-4048, Makerere University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-24 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Geographical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1937-6812 • E-ISSN: 2163-2642 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19376812.2025.2599771 |
| OpenAlex | W4417416778 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 75 |
The Kampala Urban Forest forms a significant portion of the city’s land cover and delivers essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, flood regulation, air quality improvement, and increased property values. However, rapid spatial and temporal changes threaten these services. Previous studies on land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics in Uganda have mainly focused on protected and agricultural landscapes, with limited attention to Kampala as an urban system. Moreover, the common use of five-year analysis intervals limits understanding of short-term urban forest changes. This study analysed the spatial–temporal dynamics of the Kampala Urban Forest for 2016, 2018, and 2021, and projected future changes for 2030 and 2040. Supervised classification of pre-processed Sentinel-2A imagery was conducted, and future LULC changes were modelled using a Cellular Automata–Monte Carlo approach with an artificial neural network under a business-as-usual scenario. Findings show a 7% net increase in urban forest cover between 2016 and 2021, alongside localized losses from road expansion and real estate development. Projections indicate declines of 9.7% by 2030 and 5.8% by 2040, underscoring the need for enhanced tree planting and strategic urban forestry interventions to support sustainable city development and climate adaptation and resilience in Kampala
Population · Urban forest · Urbanization · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Urban Green Space and Health
Nature-Based Solutions and Buildings – The Power of Surfaces to Help Cities Adapt to Climate Change and to Deliver Biodiversity
Good practices for estimating area and assessing accuracy of land change
The Effects of Urban Patterns on Ecosystem Function
Urban land expansion
Evidence-based guidelines for greener, healthier, more resilient neighbourhoods
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Evidence of urban heat island impacts on the vegetation growing season length in a tropical city
Urbanisation of a growing tropical mega-city during the 21st century — Landscape transformation and vegetation dynamics
The effects of street tree planting on Urban Heat Island mitigation in Montreal
Spatio-temporal flood trends & settlement choice in flood-prone areas. A case study of Lubiji micro-catchment, Kampala City
Heat and Humidity in the City
The State of Ambient Air Quality in Two Ugandan Cities
Modeling the drivers of urban land use changes in Lusaka, Zambia using multi-criteria evaluation
Dynamics of land use, land cover change trend and its drivers in Jimma Geneti District, Western Ethiopia
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |