Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES)

Remote sensing is very important for conservation and biodiversity research and applications. For instance, it can be used for monitoring changes in ecosystems. Objective: The objective of this paper was to analyze the change in the forest landscape of Mikembo Sanctuary between 2002 and 2022 using satellite imagery. Method: Supervised classification by maximum likelihood algorithm was performed and helped to differentiate 3 land use classes. Results: The cartographic and statistical analysis show that land use dynamics of the study area are dominated by an increase in forest and a reduction in bare soil. The forest increases with 0.78 km2 (18.04% of the study area) and therefore had a rate of change of more than 32.25%. Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that the Miombo woodland, specially Mikembo Sanctuary is capable of regenerating naturally or by assisted means. Encouraging people for using alternative solutions is necessary to ensure the sustainable forest management and utilization.