Climate variability coupled with land use and land cover changes have resulted in significant changes in forest reserves in Ghana with major implications for rural livelihoods. Understanding the link between climate variability, land use and land cover changes and rural livelihoods is key for decision-making, especially regarding sustainable management of forest resources, monitoring of ecosystems and related livelihoods. The study determined the extent to which climate variability drives land cover changes in the Bobiri forest reserve, Ghana. Landsat images from 1986, 2003, 2010 and 2014 were used to evaluate land cover changes of the Bobiri forest reserve in Ghana. Participatory research approaches including household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in four fringe communities of the Bobiri forest reserve. Findings showed that local people perceived changes in rainfall and temperature patterns over the past years. Historical rainfall and temperature data for the study area showed increased variability in rainfall and an increasing temperature trend, which are consistent with the perception of the study respondents. Analysis of land cover satellite images showed that there has been significant transformation of closed forest to open forest and non-forest land cover types over the 28-year period (1986–2014), with an overall kappa statistic of 0.77. Between 2003 and 2014, closed forest decreased by 15.6% but settlement/bare ground and crop land increased marginally by 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews revealed that increased land cover changes in the Bobiri forest reserve could partly be attributed to erratic rainfall patterns. Other factors such as logging and population growth were reported to be factors driving land cover changes. The study concluded that the Bobiri forest reserve has witnessed significant land cover changes and recommended that alternative livelihood sources should be provided to reduce the direct dependency of fringe communities on the forest for livelihood and firewood.

中文翻译：

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加纳波比里森林保护区边缘地区的气候变化，土地覆被变化和社区生计

气候多变性加上土地利用和土地覆盖的变化，导致加纳森林储备的重大变化，这对农村生计产生了重大影响。理解气候变化，土地利用和土地覆盖变化与农村生计之间的联系是决策的关键，特别是在森林资源的可持续管理，生态系统监测和相关生计方面。该研究确定了气候变异性在多大程度上推动了加纳博比里森林保护区的土地覆盖变化。利用1986年，2003年，2010年和2014年的Landsat影像评估了加纳Bobiri森林保护区的土地覆盖变化。参与性研究方法包括家庭问卷调查，在Bobiri森林保护区的四个边缘社区进行了焦点小组讨论和关键知情人访谈。调查结果表明，过去几年里，当地人感觉到降雨和温度模式的变化。研究区域的历史降雨和温度数据显示降雨变化性增加和温度趋势升高，这与研究受访者的看法一致。对土地覆盖物卫星图像的分析表明，在28年期间（​​1986-2014年），封闭森林已显着转变为开放森林和非森林土地覆盖类型，总体kappa统计量为0.77。在2003年至2014年之间，禁林减少了15.6％，但定居/光秃的土地和耕地分别略微增加了1.5％和0.9％。焦点小组的讨论和主要的信息提供者访谈显示，波比里森林保护区的土地覆盖变化增加，部分原因是降雨模式不规律。据报道，伐木和人口增长等其他因素也是推动土地覆盖变化的因素。该研究得出的结论是，博比里（Bobiri）森林保护区的土地覆盖已发生重大变化，并建议应提供替代生计资源，以减少边缘社区对森林的直接依赖，以谋生和砍柴。