Abstract
World forest resources are continually depleting . Assessing and quantifying the current forest resources status is a prerequisite for forest resources improvement planning and implementation. The objectives of this study are to assess, quantify, and map forest resources in the Amhara National Regional State , Ethiopia . GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing technologies were applied for the study. As a result, forest distribution map is prepared. Most of the forest covers were found along the lowland belt of Mirab Gojam , Awi, and Semen Gonder zones bordering the neighboring country, Sudan and the Tigray and Benishangul-Gumz regions. The total forest cover of the region is 12,884 km2, that is, about 8.2 % of the total land area. Including bushlands, it is about 21,783 km2, which is about 13.85 %. Woodlands, natural dense forest, riverine forest, bushlands, and plantations are 740,808, 463,950, 20,653, 889,912, and 62,973 ha in area with percentage coverage of 4.71, 2.95, 0.13, 5.66, and 0.40 respectively. GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing were found to be important tools for forest resource assessment and mapping.
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Acknowledgment
The Amhara National Regional State (ANRS), Bureau of Agriculture (BoA) and Bureau of Finance and Economic Development (BOFED) are acknowledged for giving attention and for organizing the technical team for the study. We are also grateful to the Sustainable Water Harvesting and Institutional Strengthening in Amhara (SWISHA) and the North Gondar Zone Sustainable Natural Resource Management Projects, which have assisted in providing financial support. We appreciate Belachew, Tesfaye and Hailu for their dedicated support in driving a long distance day and night. Our thanks also go to the zonal and district officials and experts who assisted in providing secondary data as well as stayed with us in the field supervisions and data collections. Finally, our deep appreciation and respect extends to the small-scale farmers for conserving the forest resources of the region and who are struggling all their lives for a better future.
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Mekonnen, M., Sewunet, T., Gebeyehu, M., Azene, B., Melesse, A.M. (2016). GIS and Remote Sensing-Based Forest Resource Assessment, Quantification, and Mapping in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. In: Melesse, A., Abtew, W. (eds) Landscape Dynamics, Soils and Hydrological Processes in Varied Climates. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18787-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18787-7_2
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