Land Use Characterization of Ile-Ife

Abstract:

This study attempts to characterize the key land uses in Ile-Ife. The study aims at identifying the key land uses in Ile-Ife, producing a land characterization map of Ile-Ife and obtaining information about the key land cover and land uses from remote sources.
In order to achieve the above aim, we undergo land use surveys so as to familiarize ourselves with the study area and take coordinates of important features needed in the characterization process.
Landsat Enhanced Thematic mapper (2002) imagery of Ile-Ife is obtained from secondary sources and classified into key land uses and covers based on the information gathered in the field using ILWIS 3.2, an image processing software; each layer or segment of land cover types and land use types are created by digitization in the ILWIS 3.2 environment and the statistics of each layer or segment of the digitzied image is also displayed in ILWIS 3.2 environment. The layers or segments of the digitized image representing the various land use cover types and land use types are exported to Arcview GIS 3.2a were they are overlain to produce a land characterization map of Ile-Ife.
In the course of our study, we identified five key land cover types in Ile-Ife; they include Built-Up Areas or Built-Up settlements, Vegetation, Bare Soil, Water Body and Wetland. We also identified three key land use types; they include Residential, Commercial, and Institutional Land Use areas.
Based on the image analysis, the estimated total land area of the study area is approximately 668.83 Km2 with 407.07Km2 (61.16%) of it covered by Vegetation, mostly secondary vegetation. About 172.59Km2 (25.81%) is covered by residential built-up settlements, about 37.63 Km2 (5.63%) is covered by institutional built-up settlements, about 35.27 Km 2 (5.27%) is covered by Bare soil, about 8.00 Km2 (1.20%) is covered by wetlands, about 5.29 Km2 (0.79%) is covered by commercial built-up settlements while remaining 0.15% ( about 0.98 Km2) is covered by pockets of water bodies. The total area of built-up settlements in Ile-Ife put together is about 215.51 Km2 representing about 32.22% of the total land in the area.
Although, vegetation covers most of the ground surface of the study area (about 61.16%), the ecosystem of the study area is still under threat because of the secondary nature of the vegetation and the continuous rise in land use for urban purposes; therefore an efficient land use planning structure that makes use of relevant technologies and information such as that which this study is designed to produce need be put in place to ensure sustainability of the environment and its capacity to continue to support life.