GAJRC | Global Academic Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences

Journal Name:	Global Academic Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences
Abbr. Title:	Glob Acad J Agri Biosci
ISSN(Print):	2706-8978
ISSN(Online):	2707-2568
Frequency:	Bi-Monthly
Language:	English
Chief Editor:	Dr. Abdul Wali A. Al Khulaidi
Publisher:	Scholars Middle East Publishers
Country of Origin:	United Arab Emirates

Journal Name:

Global Academic Journal of Agriculture and Biosciences

Abbr. Title:

Glob Acad J Agri Biosci

ISSN(Print):

2706-8978

ISSN(Online):

2707-2568

Frequency:

Bi-Monthly

Language:

English

Chief Editor:

Dr. Abdul Wali A. Al Khulaidi

Publisher:

Scholars Middle East Publishers

Country of Origin:

United Arab Emirates

March 24, 2026

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Surface Temperature Variability across Urban-Rural Gradients in Lagos Mainland, Nigeria Using High Resolution GIS and Remote Sensing

Nwodo G. O, Onuegbu F.E, Ogbaa S. I, Kalu A.O, Nwafor K.O, Nwobi C.J, Ugwu O. J, Nwankwo S. I, Abdulmumin A. L, Duruanyim H.I, Babatunde O. R, Nkemdirim A.E, Uzoho M.C, Obike S.C
Glob Acad J Agri Biosci, 2026; 8(2): 25-37
DOI : https://doi.org/10.36348/gajab.2026.v08i02.002

Urbanization in sub-Saharan African cities is altering the land surface and local climate conditions. However, the empirical data on the spatiotemporal patterns of land surface temperature (LST) along the urban–rural gradient at the local administrative level is scarce. Therefore, this study assessed the impact of land use/land cover (LULC) change on the LST dynamics in Lagos Mainland, Nigeria, a rapidly urbanizing area within Africa’s most rapidly expanding megacity, between 2015 and 2025 using a combination of GIS and remote-sensing techniques. Multitemporal Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS data (30 m resolution) acquired during the dry season months were employed for this analysis. The data were classified using a supervised classification technique and the maximum likelihood classifier to produce the LULC maps for 2015, 2020, and 2025. LST was obtained in three steps: conversion to spectral radiance, computation of brightness temperature, and emissivity correction using NDVI-based approach. A confusion matrix was used for accuracy assessment and an overall classification accuracy of 87.5% (κ = 0.84) was achieved. A significant LULC change occurred, i.e., 71.1% decline in the vegetation area (from 1065 to 308 ha) and 748.5% rise in the bare area (from 97 to 823 ha) from 2015 to 2025 and built-up area increase (from 867 to 1067 ha). The spatiotemporal variation in LST was found to be prominent as the mean surface temperature was increased from 27.61 °C (2020) to 41.22 °C (2025). Furthermore, the results of the spatial overlay analysis and bivariate correlation analysis show that there are strong positive correlation values between LST and built-up area (r > 0.80) and significant negative correlation values between LST and vegetation area (r < -0.70), thereby showing that green spaces have potential in mitigating thermal conditions. Thus, the results of this study give an empirical insight into the association between LST and land use and land cover types as evidence of the thermal impacts of urbanization at local administrative level and therefore calls for the need to consider LULC planning strategies to mitigate UHI effects. The study also shows that the use of high resolution remote sensing data is effective in the application of SDGs in tropical developing cities with limited data, and also provides baseline data for policy implications on UHI in rapidly urbanising African cities.

March 24, 2026

Evaluating the Impact of Land Use Change on Urban Heat Island Intensity in Ikeja Lago, Nigeria through Multi-Temporal LST Data and GIS-Based Modeling

Onuegbu F.E, Ogbaa S. I, Kalu A.O, Nwodo G. O, Nwafor K.O, Nwobi C.J, Ugwu O. J, Nwankwo S. I, Abdulmumin A. L, Duruanyim H.I, Babatunde O. R, Nkemdirim A.E, Uzoho M.C, Obike S.C
Glob Acad J Agri Biosci, 2026; 8(2): 10-24
DOI : https://doi.org/10.36348/gajab.2026.v08i02.001

Rapid urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly transforming land use and land cover (LULC) in a way that has enormous implications for both local climate and human well-being. This paper measures the spatiotemporal dynamics of LULC changes and its effect on land surface temperature (LST) and Urban Heat Island (UHI) strength in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, the administrative capital of Africa’s largest megacity, over a ten-year period (2015–2025). Multi-temporal Landsat-8 and Landsat-9 imagery was classified using the Random Forest algorithm (overall accuracy: 91.4-93.2%) while LST was derived from the thermal band. Post classification change detection and transition-specific thermal analysis was integrated to ascertain the amount of warming attributable to individual LULC conversion. Results show a dramatic transformation of landscape: built-up area increased 44.7% (1,980–2,865 ha) while vegetation decreased 54.9% (1,256–567 ha). The area of water bodies decreased 41.6% (154 to 90 ha). The mean LST also increased 1.6°C (39.9°C to 41.5°C) with maximum values in 2025 exceeding 46.6°C, 8 times the global background warming rate. Vegetation-to-built-up conversions were the most significant contributors (+4.2°C) to warming, 2.6°C above background rates, followed by buildings, roads and impervious surfaces (+3.0°C), then the vegetation transition (+2.3°C). Attribution analysis shows that 85.3% of the total warming effect attributable to the loss of vegetation in urban areas. A critical cooling threshold was determined at 25% vegetation cover, and 12.7% of the study region now exceeds this threshold. Heat islands tended to remain strong in industrial, transport and commercial areas. This work offers the first-ever empirical estimate of transition-specific thermal impacts within a West African city, establishing that the loss of vegetation is the leading driver of UHI intensification. Vigilant and focused policy intervention, such as preservation of green space, targeted greening of hot spots and incorporation of heat stress criteria into the planning of cities, is needed to address dangerous warming and increase climate tolerance in the rapidly urbanizing tropical cities.

A field experiment was conducted in Al-Mu'tasim subdistrict, Samarra district, Salah al-Din Governorate, during the 2024-2025 winter growing season using six barley varieties (Arevat, Normar, Jazira-120, Cleaber, Local Black Barley, and Baghdad-1) and three levels of agricultural sulfur (0, 500, and 1000 kg S ha⁻¹). The experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results showed that increasing the sulfur level led to a significant improvement in most growth and yield characteristics. The high application level (1000 kg ha⁻¹) resulted in the highest average plant height (93.2 cm), shoot dry weight (5.12 g plant⁻¹), number of spikes (4.5 spikes plant⁻¹), number of grains spike (46.70 grains), 1000-grain weight (50.32 g), total grain yield (4189 kg ha⁻¹), and biological yield (7642 kg ha⁻¹), in addition to the highest grain protein concentration (12.16%), compared to the no-application treatment, which recorded the lowest values for all studied traits. The varieties also showed significant variation in their response. The Jazira-120 variety had the highest total grain yield (4271 kg ha⁻¹), while the Baghdad-1 variety recorded the highest biological yield (7783 kg ha⁻¹), and the Local Black Barley variety recorded the lowest values for most traits. Interaction analysis confirmed a significant effect between sulfur levels and varieties, with some varieties, particularly Jazira-120 and Baghdad-1, achieving the best performance at the highest application level.

Sewage sludge, a major by-product of wastewater treatment, presents both environmental challenges and opportunities for renewable energy recovery. This study evaluates the fuel potential of sewage sludge through proximate and ultimate analyses conducted on samples collected from a wastewater treatment plant. The results show a carbon content of 35.61%, low sulphur content of 1.15%, and a calorific value of 20,999.14 kJ/kg, indicating strong suitability for energy conversion. Favorable volatile matter and elemental composition further support its use as a biomass feedstock. The findings demonstrate that sewage sludge can serve as a viable resource for waste-to-energy technologies including pyrolysis, gasification, and anaerobic digestion. Further pilot-scale investigations are recommended to assess practical efficiency and optimize conversion processes.

The study assessed the adoption and utilisation of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) among rice farmers in Benue and Nasarawa States, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 400 rice farmers through a structured questionnaire using a multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and the Ordered Probit regression model were employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that the mean age of farmers was 42 years, most were male (64.75%) and married (74.75%), and 63% had at least secondary education. The majority (62.75%) had access to extension services while only 16% accessed agricultural credit. The results also shows that the majority of rice farmers were medium and high users of CSAPs, indicating a relatively high adoption level in both states. Commonly adopted practices included wetland (Fadama) cultivation, crop rotation, cover cropping, minimum tillage, and the use of organic manure. Moreover, the Moreover, the Ordered Probit regression results showed that education (p ≤ 0.01), household size (p ≤ 0.01), family labour (p ≤ 0.05), access to extension services (p ≤ 0.01), ownership of communication tools (p ≤ 0.10), sex (p ≤ 0.05), livestock ownership (p ≤ 0.01), and farm size (p ≤ 0.10) had significant positive effects on CSAP utilisation. Conversely, age (p ≤ 0.10) and distance to input markets (p ≤ 0.01) exerted significant negative influences on utilisation levels. The study concludes that enhancing farmers’ access to information, credit, and extension services is crucial for increasing CSAP adoption and utilisation. Therefore, the study recommends that government agencies and agricultural extension services should formulate and implement policies that promote farmer education, expand extension outreach, and provide accessible financial and infrastructural support to accelerate the widespread adoption of CSAPs in the region.