Journal of Environment and Earth Science www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3216 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0948 (Online) Vol.5, No.9, 2015 61 Detection of Human-Induced Land Cover Changes in Nimbia Forest Reserve, Kaduna State, Nigeria Vivan Ezra Lekwot 1* Ali Andesikuteb Yakubu 1 Eziashi Austin Chukuma 2 Musa Ismaila Tudun-Wada 3 1.Ph.D Candidate Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria 2.Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria 3.Federal College of Forestry, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria Abstract Nimbia Forest Reserve was established in 1957 as a plantation site to increase the productivity and curb desertification of the semi-arid zone of the Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria. But human activities has been acknowledged as a vital factor militating against the realization of this noble objective. This study attempts the use of GIS and Remote Sensing in mapping land cover in the study area between 1986, 1998 and 2007 so as to detect the changes that may have taken place in the study area between these periods as a result of human activities. The study utilized data from field surveys, remote sensed data and geographical information system technique, four main methods of data analysis were adopted in this study namely calculation of the Area in hectares of the resulting land cover types for each study year and subsequently comparing the results, Markov Chain and Cellular Automata Analysis for predicting change, Overlay Operations and Maximum Likelihood Classification. Subsequently, an attempt was made at projecting the observed land cover changes. The result obtained showed that some features will be lost to other features and possible reasons for that were evaluated. Recommendation were put forward to help curb the problem. Keywords: Land cover, Forest, Remote sensing, GIS, Human activities Introduction Illegal forest activities pose a significant threat to the sustainability of forest ecosystems, result in losses of government revenues, foster a vicious cycle of bad governance, and may contribute to increased poverty and social conflict. As such, they have received considerable attention from the international community, particularly in recent years(Tacconi, 2003). Anthropogenic or illegal forest activities include a broad array of legal violation that ranges from violating ownership and use rights to engaging in corrupt relationships. They also may span activities at all stages of the forest production chain, from the acquisition of authorizations, to planning, to harvesting and transport of raw material and finished products, to financial management. Illegal forest activities pose a significant threat to the sustainability of forest ecosystems, result in losses of government revenues, foster a vicious cycle of bad governance, and may contribute to increase poverty and social conflict (CIFOR, 2003).Changes in vegetation cover are related to anthropogenic activity and/or natural causes. In the absence of anthropogenic impacts and extreme natural events (fire, flood, etc.), vegetation cover is related directly to rainfall. Rainfall is one of the most important factors that affect vegetation productivity in a desert ecosystem. In semiarid areas, vegetative cover is related to the amount and timing of rainfall (Lazaro, 2001)Upon all the benefits forest gave to people yet, forest faced problems such as deforested areas, mismanaged forests, broken structure and health, nonguaranteed sustainability, decreased biodiversity, and destructed forest due to conversion to other land use such as agricultural and industrial development(Misir,1997). Lambin(1996), states that most of the world’s Vegetation is in a constant state of flux at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. These changes are driven by seasonal and interannual climate variations, long-term climate shifts vegetation succession, and human or natural disturbance.Forest ecosystems are being degraded and lost because of rapid population change and economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation (David, 2001). Some of our forest reserves in Nigeria as observed by Tudunwada (2012) are facing degradation from anthropogenic activities, particularly the Fulani herdsmen, Firewood poachers and hunters. He also noted that some of these forest reserves have insufficient numbers of personnel to look after the forest at the same time they were ill equipped and were badly remunerated. Before the current Nimbia forest reserve was established there was a natural forest which was cleared in 1957and replaced by the government with exotic species mainly Teak (Tectona grandis) and a few Gmelinaarborea stands. The purpose was to raise a logging plantation that could serve as a source of employment to the youth of the area and a source of revenue to the government. Contrary to this, the Forest is facing some level of degradation as a result ofthe nonchalant attitude of the management and illegal poaching currently going on in the forest. Aim and Objectives The aim of this study is to use multi temporal Landsat imageries for the past 21 years (1986-2007) to determine