CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF OLD OYO NATIONAL PARK, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION
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Abstract
Protected landscapes, though protected, face increasing ecological threats due to climate variability and change, human interference, encroachment from invasive species, habitat fragmentation, and poaching, which result in habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. In the savanna ecosystem of OldOyo National Park (OONP), Nigeria, there is limited understanding of climate variability and landscape dynamics, which is crucial in informing effective conservation efforts. This study bridges this gap by investigating climate variability trends and changes in the land/vegetal cover and presents an argument for climate-resilient conservation. Rainfall and temperature estimates (1990 – 2024) from the Terra Climate datasets were used to investigate climatic patterns, and Landsat images (1999– 2020) were used to analyse landscape changes, using supervised image classification. Our findings reveal very high rainfall variability, particularly in dry months, and a significant upward trend intemperature (+0.38°C/decade). Meanwhile, landscape dynamics show that the mixed open savanna dominated the park; a ~69.7% decrease in bare land, ~18.6% loss in water bodies, and ~59.8% growth in forests, implying an overall positive vegetation stability. Nevertheless, the observed climate variability versus overall positive vegetation growth showed an irony that questions the drivers of forest encroachment, preservation of native species, and the overall integrity of the savanna ecosystem, underscoring the urgent need for adaptive approaches that account for climatic and ecological complexities. Moreover, since the satellite images only detected broad land cover classes, the study recommends further research into the species diversity, ecological composition, and functions of the ecosystem to validate on-the-ground conditions, providing insights to guide targeted interventions that enhance a climate-resilient savanna ecosystem.
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References
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