Table 2. Area (ha) and percent cover (%) of each land use/ cover (LULC) class in Gedaref state for the years 1988, 1998, 2008, and 2018 estimated using multi-date Landsat images and random forest classification algorithm.
| Year | 1988 | 1998 | 2008 | 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Area | Area | Area | |||||
| LULC | ha | % | ha | % | ha | % | ha | % |
| Cropland | 5023958.04 | 78.64 | 5289566.13 | 82.8 | 5566904.46 | 87.14 | 5723662.45 | 89.59 |
| Forest | 0069053.13 | 01.08 | 0037217.16 | 00.58 | 0035406.99 | 00.55 | 0030056.44 | 00.47 |
| Grassland | 1254479.85 | 19.64 | 1012649.94 | 15.85 | 0734874.57 | 11.51 | 0548998.87 | 08.59 |
| Water | 0034132.05 | 00.53 | 0039363.12 | 00.62 | 0035961.84 | 00.56 | 0057366.22 | 00.89 |
| Settlement | 0006739.02 | 00.11 | 0009565.74 | 00.15 | 0015214.23 | 00.24 | 0028278.13 | 00.44 |
| Total | 6388362.09 | 100 | 6388362.09 | 100 | 6388362.09 | 100 | 6388362.09 | 100 |