Format: ORAL

Peter Atta-Adjei Junior1, Allotey Albert Nii Moe2, Seyram Kumordzi1, Yaw Appau1, Portia Seble Elorm1, Akuamoa-Boateng Michael1 and Tonny Asafo-Agyei1.

1. Centre for Plant Medicine Research, P. O. Box 73, Mampong Akuapem, Ghana. 2. Institute for Scientific & Technological Information, Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, P.O. Box CT-2211 Cantonments, Accra, Ghana.

The phenomenon of Spatio-temporal dynamics occurs as a significant component of environmental monitoring in the 21st century. It deploys sophisticated tools such as satellites and advanced computer applications. Taxonomists believe correctly identifying biological species promotes a universally focused activity such as conservation. Following frequent visits to some portions of the Accra plains of Ghana for plant collection activities, it was observed that some areas and plants are speedily depleted. This concern motivated an investigation at the Shai-Osudoku district occurring on the Accra plains to ascertain the extent of depletion and understand the potential losses and consequences. The Shai-Osudoku district which is enriched with a wide range of medicinal plant species spanning from forest to savannah species was studied to ascertain the rate of land use/landcover change over the past two decades. Using mango plantations as a model, a survey was conducted to verify the spatio-temporal dynamics of mango farming in the Shai-Osudoku district. Images were downloaded from the internet (United States Geological Survey/Global Land Cover Facility) to cross-check survey results. The survey data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20 and images downloaded were classified using first, ISODATA algorithm with 25 classes and later knowledge-based supervised classification. The results indicated that land use/land cover change has occurred. Also, areas of waterbody and mango plantation increased by 35.62% and 72.14% respectively as vegetation and built-up decreased by 35.20% and 39.55%. Farmers agreed their standard of living improved at the advent of mango production and the market value of mango remained unchanged by Spatio-temporal dynamics but were ignorant about the long-term economic effects of their activities on the increasing depletion population of medicinal plants. Further verification was done using satellite images in comparison with herbarium data to ascertain the erosion of some medicinal plant species from their collection locations.