Land use land cover dynamics and fragmentation-induced changes in woody plant community structure in a mining landscape, Ghana

The study assessed the dynamics of mining land use land cover changes and consequent fragmentation impacts on woody plant community structure in the Ahafo Region, Ghana. Landsat images were utilised to determine land use and cover changes using a supervised classification method. Plant community structure was determined within 60 (20 × 20 m) plots that were randomly laid in equal numbers in fragmented and intact forests. Our findings showed that the mining landscape experienced a substantial land use/cover change between 2003 and 2018, with considerable forest cover loss at the expense of increasing cover of plantation, settlement/bare surface, mine site, and waterbody. Woody plant species diversity was significantly lower in the fragmented forest around the mine. Likewise, fragmentation caused a shift in plant species composition in the fragmented forest, whose composition was less homogenised compared to the intact forest. Plant abundance did not differ significantly between the two forests, but it was invasive and cultivated tree species that increased the total abundance of woody plants in the fragmented forests. The mining landscape was dominated by an invasive alien species, Broussonetia papyrifera which poses an ecological threat to native species. In conclusion, our findings suggest that mining contributed to intense land use/cover dynamics and fragmentation that impaired woody plant community structure around the mine. There is the need to accord priority to management intervention that would seek to manage and conserve the remaining forest fragments and its biodiversity in the mining landscape.