## 3 Results
### Land Cover Classification Analysis  
Forest, woodland, and other land cover types were identified and categorized throughout the research region using the random forest classification method. Because there is no body of water present, the research area was divided into the aforementioned three categories. Images captured by satellite in 1980, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 were each assigned a category. About 84 km\({}^{2}\) (35.3%) of total ever forest cover was lost in the past 40 years, and the highest rate of the total, approximately 34.71 km\({}^{2}\), appeared between the 2000s and 2010. Results also show that recovery of forest cover was observed from 2015 to 2020 with a total of 16 km\({}^{2}\). The forest and woodland cover decreased between 1980 and 2020, whereas other land covers increased for a total land area of 384.08 km\({}^{2}\). Figure 5 shows the summary of each land cover change in km\({}^{2}\) for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Figure 6 shows the RF classification results of the forest, woodland, and other lands in the study area for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Table 4 indicates the land cover statistics for three classes, including forest, woodland, and other land covers of Malam Jabba in square kilometers from 1980 to 2020. Figure 5: Summary of each land cover change in km\({}^{2}\) from 1980 to 2020. Table 3 indicates that maximum forest cover estimated at an elevation of more than 1700 m occupied the northern western and central area of the Malam Jabba. There was a total of 236 km\({}^{2}\) of forest cover in 1980 while in 2000 the loss reached 183 km\({}^{2}\). However, an increase of 16 km\({}^{2}\) in forest area was found from 2005 to 2020. The maximum loss of forest land was observed from 2000 to 2010, comprising 101 km\({}^{2}\). It was also observed that the loss of forest land before 2000 was less compared with the period after 2000. Forest land cover decreased during the research period from 1980 to 2020, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, showing a drop of 32% km\({}^{2}\). A total of 84 km declined in the area from 1980 to 2020. In every part of the country, the loss of forest cover posed a significant threat \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Land Classes** & **1980** & **1985** & **1990** & **1995** & **2000** & **2005** & **2010** & **2015** & **2020** \\ \hline Forest & 236 & 227 & 210 & 196 & 183 & 169 & 135 & 141 & 152 \\ \hline Woodland & 381 & 374 & 369 & 306 & 295 & 278 & 263 & 259 & 287 \\ \hline Other land & 178 & 194 & 216 & 293 & 317 & 348 & 384 & 395 & 356 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Land cover statistics of the three classes of the study area in square kilometers from 1980 to 2020. Figure 6: Random classifications of Landsat images of the forest, woodland, and other lands in the study area from 1980 to 2020.  
to the natural environment. Figures 5-7 briefly explain the overall increase and decrease in three types of land cover maps that represent projections for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Table 3 explains the details of land cover change in square kilometers. The positive number shows the increase in land cover, while the negative number shows the area loss. Figure 6 shows the LULC map's results for 9 years from 1980 through 2020 by using the RF classifier. In Malam Jabba, the entire area covered by forests was around 235 km\({}^{2}\) in 1990, which was reduced to 152 km\({}^{2}\) by the year 2020, with a total forest cover loss of 35% percent. The minimum forest cover loss was observed from 2015 to 2020 with a value of 6%. The details of forest area lost in square kilometers within the gap of 5 years from 1980 to 2020 are indicated in Figure 8. Figure 9 explains the overlay analysis of forest cover change dynamics for a 20-year gap from 1980, 2000, and 2020.