Abstract:
Understanding about land cover and land use (LCLU) changes, as well as the associated impacts
on ecosystem service values (ESV) is extremely important in the management of coastal
ecosystems globally. Thus, this study assessed temporal LCLU changes, the underlying socioeconomic
drivers and dynamics of ESV in the coastal zone of Tanzania. The LCLU data for 2000
and 2010 were from the Globe Land 30 mapping products at 30-meter spatial resolution
developed by National Geomatics Center of China, while 2016 images were produced from
Landsat 8. Classification of images was done from Landsat TM/ETM+ for 2000, 2010, and 2016
years complemented with MODIS and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index time series, and
Chinese HJ imagery. LCLU categories and ecosystem service coefficients were used to compute
ESV on each LCLU categories. Between 2000 and 2016, farmland, shrub land, waterbody, and
artificial surface expanded while forest, grazing land, and wetlands declined. The ESV increased
on farmland, shrub land, and waterbody, while the decline was found on forest, grazing land,
and wetlands. The ESV and the total population ratios declined from $80.4, 63.8, and $46.0
million in 2000, 2010, and 2016, respectively. Perfect positive correlation was on LCLU change
and ESV, population and households in crop farming, livestock keeping, and bioenergy use.
Population pressure and socioeconomic activities have amplified the degradation of the coastal
ecosystems. If not abetted, there is a danger of further impairments on these ecosystems. We
advise to regulate population and socioeconomic activities to avoid more negative impacts of
coastal LCLU change.
