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Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan

Received: 13 September 2025     Accepted: 24 September 2025     Published: 28 October 2025
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Abstract

The methods for assessing climate change vulnerability in Africa are not designed to be easily modified. Finding the appropriate methods for assessing climate change risk is one of the most difficult steps in Africa as general and in Sudan in particular. Therefore, this study was conducted in three localities in North Darfur State (NDS) during 2019 with aim to asses’ climate change vulnerability by using the NDVI and Aridity Index (AI) and to study the impact of climate change on forestry and range species. Three methods were used (1) Remote sensing method (2) Focus group discussion and (3) Key informant interview (KII). According to MODIST and LAND SAT-8 data about 57.1% of locality of Kalamendo was classified as highly vulnerable to climate change, 42.7% as moderate vulnerable and 0.2% as slight vulnerable. In El Koma locality about 59.2% from the locality area was classified as highly vulnerable 40.5% as moderate vulnerable and 0.03 are classified as slightly vulnerable. In Mellit locality 99.1% of the locality is classified as highly vulnerable, 07% as moderately vulnerable and the rest of locality as slightly vulnerable. It was observed that Mellit locality is highly affected by climate change vulnerability. The results from focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interview showed that the forest cover and range conditions were highly deteriorated an affected by climate change. The targeted localities experienced drought spells during the periods 64, 72, 75, 85 and 1992 which lead to crop failure, death of livestock and massive people displacement. According to FGD and KII the coping strategies during the drought and famine period include; use of seeds of grasses and tree species as famine foods, selling assets; displacement of local communities to the nearest towns and reduce food consumption. Therefore, the study recommended using alternatives for energy and building materials sources. This includes solar energy and stabilized soil blocks. Furthermore, capacity building of communities on sustainable forests management, establishment of villages’ nurseries and, establishment of community/private forests and improve stove (Azza, Elsurur and easy avi-stoves) to minimize dependency on the traditional stove/three stone stove. The recommendations for improvement of range condition in NDS include adoption of water harvesting techniques, equal distribution of water point, rehabilitating of range land by reseedings of perennials palatable range species, opening of the fire lines, range improvement by broadcasting of seeds to enrich the soil seeds banks and improvement of the poor animal genetic stocks.

Published in American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14
Page(s) 154-169
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Climate Change, NDVI, Vulnerability, North Darfur, Kalamendo, El Koma, Mellit Localities

References
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[2] Adam. H. S (2008). Agro climatology, Crop Water Requirement and Water Management. Gezira Printing and Publication Co. Ltd. Wad Medani. Sudan.
[3] Chen, X., et al. (2020). Spatial-temporal variations of NDVI and its response to climate in China from 2001 to 2020. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 32(9), 1547-1567.
[4] Chen, Z., Wang, W., & Fu, J. (2020). Vegetation response to precipitation anomalies under different climatic and biogeographical conditions in China. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 830.
[5] Folke, C. (2016). Resilience (Republished). Ecology and Society, 21(4), 44.
[6] Ghebrezgabher, M. G., et al. (2020). Assessment of NDVI variations in responses to climate change in the Horn of Africa. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 23(3), 333-343.
[7] Girmaw Bogale. (2015). Reviewing of Climate Vulnerability Assessment Methodologies. Unpublished.
[8] Habiballa. A. M. and Ali. A. M. (2010). Classification of Sudan Using Aridity Indices. Sudan J. Des. Res. 2: 62-75.
[9] Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4, 1-23.
[10] Loh, P. S., Mohammed Alnoor, H. I., & He, S. (2020). Impact of Climate Change on Vegetation Cover at South Port Sudan Area. Climate, 8(10), 114.
[11] Mahcer, F., et al. (2024). Can land-use and land-cover change explain reduced resilience in forests? Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 7.
[12] Mohammed, Y; Baknam S, Adam and Kawther H, Abusin, 2016. Value Chain Analysis for the Pro Poor Project, Consultancy report, UNDP.
[13] Mohmmed, A.; Zhang, K.; Kabenge, M.; Keesstra, S.; Cerdà, A.; Reuben, M.; Elbashier, M. M.; Dalson, T. & Ali, A. A. (2018). Analysis of drought and vulnerability in the North Darfur region of Sudan. Land Degradation & Development, 29(12): 4424-4438.
[14] NAPA. 2007. National Adaptation programme of Action. Republic of the Sudan, Ministry of Environment and Physical Development, Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, Khartoum.
[15] North Darfur State NAP Committee, 2013. North Darfur State NAP Report on Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Options and Strategies.
[16] North Darfur State NAP Committee. (2013). As cited in Sudan National Adaptation Plan (NAP). UNFCCC.
[17] SFNC. 2002. Sudan’s First National communication. Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR), Khartoum.
[18] Sudan's First National Communication (SFNC). (2003). Sudan's First National Communication Volume I: Main Communications. UNFCCC. (Note: The text cited 2002, but the official document is dated 2003).
[19] Sudan's National Adaptation Plan (NAPA). (2007). Sudan National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) Official Document - July 2007. UNDP.
[20] UNEP. (2007). Sudan Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme.
[21] Walker, B., Holling, C. S., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. (2004). Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 9(2), 5.
[22] Wubet, A., Alemayehu, E., & Tadesse, T. (2023). Spatiotemporal vegetation dynamics and their response to climate variability in the Horn of Africa. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(4), 518.
[23] Zakieldeen, SA. 2007. Vulnerability in Sudan. tiempo bulletin 62. Online bulletin at:
[24] Zakieldeen, SA. 2009. Adaptation to Climate Change: A Vulnerability Assessment for Sudan, International Institute for Environment and Development (IEED).
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Fadul, K. E. M., Elamin, E. T. M., Lazim, A. M. M., Khatir, A. A., Meheissi, B., et al. (2025). Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan. American Journal of Life Sciences, 13(5), 154-169. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14

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    ACS Style

    Fadul, K. E. M.; Elamin, E. T. M.; Lazim, A. M. M.; Khatir, A. A.; Meheissi, B., et al. Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan. Am. J. Life Sci. 2025, 13(5), 154-169. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14

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    AMA Style

    Fadul KEM, Elamin ETM, Lazim AMM, Khatir AA, Meheissi B, et al. Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan. Am J Life Sci. 2025;13(5):154-169. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14,
      author = {Kamal Eldin Mohammed Fadul and El Tighani Marghani Elamin and Ahmed Mohammed Mustafa Lazim and Abdelrahman Ahmed Khatir and Bushra Meheissi and Fadwa Hassan Ibrahim and Dirdiri Hassan Mahmoud and Sona Mohammed Fadul and Hatim Abdalla Elkhidir},
      title = {Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan
    },
      journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
      volume = {13},
      number = {5},
      pages = {154-169},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20251305.14},
      abstract = {The methods for assessing climate change vulnerability in Africa are not designed to be easily modified. Finding the appropriate methods for assessing climate change risk is one of the most difficult steps in Africa as general and in Sudan in particular. Therefore, this study was conducted in three localities in North Darfur State (NDS) during 2019 with aim to asses’ climate change vulnerability by using the NDVI and Aridity Index (AI) and to study the impact of climate change on forestry and range species. Three methods were used (1) Remote sensing method (2) Focus group discussion and (3) Key informant interview (KII). According to MODIST and LAND SAT-8 data about 57.1% of locality of Kalamendo was classified as highly vulnerable to climate change, 42.7% as moderate vulnerable and 0.2% as slight vulnerable. In El Koma locality about 59.2% from the locality area was classified as highly vulnerable 40.5% as moderate vulnerable and 0.03 are classified as slightly vulnerable. In Mellit locality 99.1% of the locality is classified as highly vulnerable, 07% as moderately vulnerable and the rest of locality as slightly vulnerable. It was observed that Mellit locality is highly affected by climate change vulnerability. The results from focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interview showed that the forest cover and range conditions were highly deteriorated an affected by climate change. The targeted localities experienced drought spells during the periods 64, 72, 75, 85 and 1992 which lead to crop failure, death of livestock and massive people displacement. According to FGD and KII the coping strategies during the drought and famine period include; use of seeds of grasses and tree species as famine foods, selling assets; displacement of local communities to the nearest towns and reduce food consumption. Therefore, the study recommended using alternatives for energy and building materials sources. This includes solar energy and stabilized soil blocks. Furthermore, capacity building of communities on sustainable forests management, establishment of villages’ nurseries and, establishment of community/private forests and improve stove (Azza, Elsurur and easy avi-stoves) to minimize dependency on the traditional stove/three stone stove. The recommendations for improvement of range condition in NDS include adoption of water harvesting techniques, equal distribution of water point, rehabilitating of range land by reseedings of perennials palatable range species, opening of the fire lines, range improvement by broadcasting of seeds to enrich the soil seeds banks and improvement of the poor animal genetic stocks.
    },
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Impact of Climate Change Vulnerability on Forest and Range Species in North Darfur States, Sudan
    
    AU  - Kamal Eldin Mohammed Fadul
    AU  - El Tighani Marghani Elamin
    AU  - Ahmed Mohammed Mustafa Lazim
    AU  - Abdelrahman Ahmed Khatir
    AU  - Bushra Meheissi
    AU  - Fadwa Hassan Ibrahim
    AU  - Dirdiri Hassan Mahmoud
    AU  - Sona Mohammed Fadul
    AU  - Hatim Abdalla Elkhidir
    Y1  - 2025/10/28
    PY  - 2025
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14
    T2  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JF  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    JO  - American Journal of Life Sciences
    SP  - 154
    EP  - 169
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5737
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20251305.14
    AB  - The methods for assessing climate change vulnerability in Africa are not designed to be easily modified. Finding the appropriate methods for assessing climate change risk is one of the most difficult steps in Africa as general and in Sudan in particular. Therefore, this study was conducted in three localities in North Darfur State (NDS) during 2019 with aim to asses’ climate change vulnerability by using the NDVI and Aridity Index (AI) and to study the impact of climate change on forestry and range species. Three methods were used (1) Remote sensing method (2) Focus group discussion and (3) Key informant interview (KII). According to MODIST and LAND SAT-8 data about 57.1% of locality of Kalamendo was classified as highly vulnerable to climate change, 42.7% as moderate vulnerable and 0.2% as slight vulnerable. In El Koma locality about 59.2% from the locality area was classified as highly vulnerable 40.5% as moderate vulnerable and 0.03 are classified as slightly vulnerable. In Mellit locality 99.1% of the locality is classified as highly vulnerable, 07% as moderately vulnerable and the rest of locality as slightly vulnerable. It was observed that Mellit locality is highly affected by climate change vulnerability. The results from focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interview showed that the forest cover and range conditions were highly deteriorated an affected by climate change. The targeted localities experienced drought spells during the periods 64, 72, 75, 85 and 1992 which lead to crop failure, death of livestock and massive people displacement. According to FGD and KII the coping strategies during the drought and famine period include; use of seeds of grasses and tree species as famine foods, selling assets; displacement of local communities to the nearest towns and reduce food consumption. Therefore, the study recommended using alternatives for energy and building materials sources. This includes solar energy and stabilized soil blocks. Furthermore, capacity building of communities on sustainable forests management, establishment of villages’ nurseries and, establishment of community/private forests and improve stove (Azza, Elsurur and easy avi-stoves) to minimize dependency on the traditional stove/three stone stove. The recommendations for improvement of range condition in NDS include adoption of water harvesting techniques, equal distribution of water point, rehabilitating of range land by reseedings of perennials palatable range species, opening of the fire lines, range improvement by broadcasting of seeds to enrich the soil seeds banks and improvement of the poor animal genetic stocks.
    
    VL  - 13
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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