Land Cover and Landscape Changes in the Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor Adjacent to Road A-104, 2002 to 2017

The Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor in northern Tanzania connects Lake Manyara National Park with Tarangire National Park. In 2005, an existing road was paved and raised to improve the connection between the towns of Arusha and Babati. However, the road’s improvement may impact animal movement between the two national parks by providing a physical obstacle and opening up the area to more human settlements. This study examines satellite remote sensing data to estimate land cover changes adjacent to the road in a 50–2000-m buffer before and after the road was paved in 2002 and 2017, respectively. Classified maps were generated using Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 data, and a drone orthophoto was created to visualize accuracy of the 2017 classified map. Results indicate changes in both land cover and landscape metrics. While there were large increases in agricultural activity throughout the buffered area, bare ground or grass decreased from 50% to approximately 12%. All landscape metrics measured for the two dates—Shannon Diversity Index, Simpson’s Diversity Index, Landscape Patch Index, and Patch Density—described a simpler and less aggregated landscape that may affect animal movement through the corridor.