Trends and drivers of forest cover change in the Cherangany hills forest ecosystem, western Kenya

Detecting and monitoring forest cover change and its drivers has become a vital component of forest management globally as it helps in decision-making and policy development. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal trends of forest cover change and its drivers from 1985 to 2020 in the Cherangany hills forest ecosystem, Kenya. Landsat satellite data and Google Earth Engine (GEE) algorithms were used for land cover mapping and change detection. In addition, a literature review was undertaken to establish the drivers of forest cover change over time in the study area.