ISPRS-Archives The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ISPRS-Archives Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2194-9034 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-10-2025-261-2026 Correlation of Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Soil Moisture Variability over Zaria-Nigeria Abubakar Aliyu Zailani 1 Ojigi Lazarus Mustapha https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3104-2524 2 Garba Samuel Sule 3 Abdulkadir Aisha 4 Azua Samuel 1 Youngu Terwase Tosin 1 Department of Geomatics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state, Nigeria African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, (AFRIGIST) Ille-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria Department of Geomatics, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria Department of Soil Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria 04 05 2026 XLVIII-M-10-2025 261 270 Copyright: © 2026 Aliyu Zailani Abubakar et al. 2026 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-10-2025/261/2026/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-10-2025-261-2026.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-10-2025/261/2026/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-10-2025-261-2026.pdf

Soil moisture is an important part of the land water cycle. It affects ecosystem health, agricultural output, and climate regulation. Several factors influence its variability, especially land use and land cover (LULC). This study looked at how LULC relates to changes in soil moisture in Zaria, Nigeria. The study area is experiencing urban growth and agricultural expansion. Soil moisture data was retrieved from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). LULC maps were created from satellite images taken from 2000 to 2020. Partial correlation analysis was employed to determine the relationship between various land cover types and soil moisture. The results show strong positive correlations between soil moisture and vegetated areas (r = 0.9801) and also with water bodies (r = 0.9232). These results indicate that thick vegetation and nearby water bodies help retain soil moisture by reducing evaporation, improving infiltration, and increasing water-holding capacity. On the other hand, soil moisture has a strong negative correlation with built-up areas (r = −0.8723) and bare soil (r= −0.997). The study shows that LULC characteristics greatly impact soil moisture changes. The study finally demonstrated the vital role of vegetation and water features in maintaining soil moisture, while also highlighting the negative effects of urban expansion and land degradation in semi-arid areas like Zaria.