ANALYSIS OF LAND DEGRADATION IN GANYE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Land degradation is the consequence of important processes active in arid and semi-arid ecosystem, where water is the original limiting factor in execution of land practice and management. The research study identified and mapped degraded areas in Ganye local government from the land use and land cover maps of 1986, 1996, 2006 and 2016 (Landsat ETM). Satellite images were processed and classified into five different land use classes. Extend of area coverage of degraded areas were obtained from the land use land cover classification. The result obtained showed the area extend of degradation, agricultural lands continued to expand, urban/built up areas continue to increase. The rich vegetation cover continued to decline as a result of anthropogenic activities. The water surfaces area decline as a result of draught and erratic rainfall, while bare surface areas continued to increase which shows that land is being degraded. It recommends campaign awareness to discourage bush burning and planting of cover crops.