Relationships between Climate Parameters and Forest Vegetation At and Near Digya National Park, Ghana
Yaw A. Twumasi *
Department of Agriculture Research Unit, Alcorn State University, 1000 ASU DR. #750, Lorman, MS 39096, USA.
Tommy L. Coleman
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Alabama A&M University, P.O. Box 1208, Normal, AL 35762, USA.
Andrew Manu
Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, 1126A Agronomy Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Edmund C. Merem
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jackson State University, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211, USA.
Albert Osei
Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Oakwood University, 7000 Adventist Blvd. Huntsville, AL 35896, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This paper evaluates the effect of three climate parameters on forest cover in Ghana and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at Digya National Park derived from Landsat image data. Climate data (temperature, humidity, dewpoint, rainfall) are assembled from statistics provided by Ghana's Meteorological Agency. The study introduces a weighted averaging method by computing weather information from neighbouring stations. Also, this research introduces a model of dewpoints, enabling the direct calculation of dewpoints from temperature and humidity data. The major finding is that while temperature significantly affects forest cover and Park vegetation, dew-points and rainfall do not. The paper suggests where future research may be more fruitful in analyzing the effects of climate on vegetation.
Keywords: Forest cover, vegetation, NDV, climate change, temperature, dewpoint, rainfall, remote sensing