THE USE OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES IN ASSESSING THE DISTRIBUTION TRENDS OF COMMIPHORA MYRRHA IN WAJIR COUNTY, KENYA

DOI: 10.24057/2414-9179-2014-1-20-70

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About the Authors

A. Luvanda

Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Dryalnd Eco-region Research Programme, Kitui, Kenya.
Russian Federation

G. Wanjiru

Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Nairobi
Russian Federation

E. Makatiani

Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Nairobi
Russian Federation

Abstract

A study was conducted to establish the current trend in distribution of Commiphora myrrha in its natural stands in Wajir County. Data was collected through observation, interviews and questionnaires, photographs (remote sensing images) using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to to mark the plant’s hot spots and locate the tree stand coordinates. A supervised classification of Land Sat images acquired in 2003, 2009 and 2011 was undetaken. The results show that C. myrrha covers an average area of 61,620.23Ha. The area under C. myrrha had declined between 2009 and 2011 and this could be attributed to human and environmental factors. It is therefore recommended that sustainable management and conservation strategies be adopted to ensure imprived tree cover.

For citation: Luvanda A., Wanjiru G., Makatiani E. THE USE OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES IN ASSESSING THE DISTRIBUTION TRENDS OF COMMIPHORA MYRRHA IN WAJIR COUNTY, KENYA. Proceedings of the International conference “InterCarto. InterGIS”. 2014;20:70 DOI: 10.24057/2414-9179-2014-1-20-70 (in Russian)