Evaluation of Deforestation Patterns and Causes in Ondo State Forest Reserves

This study evaluates the patterns and underlying causes of deforestation in selected forest reserves in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Ondo State hosts some of the most ecologically significant remaining lowland rainforest in the South West zone, yet illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and fuelwood extraction continue to degrade these protected areas. Multi-temporal Landsat satellite imagery from 2015 and 2022 was processed to map forest cover change within three designated reserves in Akure South, Owo, and Odigbo Local Government Areas. Supervised classification using the maximum likelihood algorithm produced land cover maps for both periods, from which deforestation rates and spatial patterns were derived. Field verification was conducted at forty ground truth sites to validate the classification accuracy. Concurrently, structured interviews were conducted with 60 reserve-adjacent farming households, 20 forest guards, and 10 Ondo State Forestry Commission officers to identify the socioeconomic drivers of encroachment. Results show a net forest cover loss of 18.6 percent over the seven-year period, with the highest deforestation rates in reserve sections bordered by farming communities with the smallest average farm sizes. Agricultural expansion is identified as the primary proximate driver in 67 percent of encroachment cases, followed by illegal logging at 21 percent and charcoal production at 12 percent. Forest guards cite inadequate patrol frequency due to personnel shortages. Recommendations include expanding community forest management agreements in buffer zones and strengthening the Forestry Commission's monitoring capacity through satellite-linked alert systems. Keywords: deforestation, forest reserve, remote sensing, Ondo State, land use change.