Land cover and land use dynamics on medicinal plant Species in the Shai Osudoku district of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

2014

English

In recent times, the use of medicinal plants by individuals and organizations has been intensified because of their proven efficacy and the availability of many of these plants. The study intents to identify and delineate different land cover and land use dynamics of medicinal plant species in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater-Accra Region of Ghana. Initially, land cover categories at multiple spatial scales and the changes over a period of 26 years (1985-2011) were gathered using satellite remote sensing. Secondly, a household data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire guide by employing a snowball technique on the 108 respondents from the three communities to examine the impact of land use change on medicinal plants that are perceived to be endangered. The image analysis indicated that area classified as exposed/degraded/built-up has reduced over the years from 63.7% in 1985, 38.4% in 2000 and 36.1% in 2011, whereas savanna vegetation had increased from 23.5%, 15.7% and 26.3% in 1985, 2000 and 2011 accordingly. The results of the multiple linear regression showed that the overall model was statistically significant (F=438.5, p-value=0.000). Thus, expansion in infrastructure, plantation agriculture, financial issues were identified as the major causes of land use changes; and hence, the disappearance of some medicinal plant species in the area. In order to preserve and conserve these valuable medicinal plant species, a community-based medicinal plant farms approach is recommended for the communities.

Allotey, A. N. M.; Yeboah, S. A.; Ameyaw, Y.