Impacts of mining activities on land cover and forest stock in Mbozi district, Mbeya region, Tanzania

A study was conducted in three villages of Nanyala ward in Mbozi District to assess the impact of mining activities on land cover and forest stock. Landsat images of 1991, 2000 and 2011 were used to assess the trend of land cover changes. The Forest was stratified into mined and un-mined forest area. A concentric circular shaped sample plot with sampling intensity of 0.19 % was used. 70 sample plots were laid and measurements were taken for estimation of stocking, basal area, volume and tree species diversity. Structured and semi structured questionnaire were administered to randomly selected 90 households in three villages adjacent to the mining area. Spatial data was analyzed by Arc View GIS version 9.3 and ERDAS Imagine version 3.2.and MS Excel was used to analyze N/ha, G and V, while Shannon Wiener Index of Diversity data was analyzed using PAST. ANOVA was used to determine the significant different of forest parameters at p