K.P. N’Gouran, G.G. Zanh, K.A.N. Koua, A.E. Abozan and Y.S.S. Barima
Abstract
In Côte dââ¬â¢Ivoire, state-owned areas and their periphery are subject to heavy anthropization, leading to changes in the landscape. The general objective of this study is to understand the impact of occupation dynamics at the periphery of the Haut-Sassandra classified forest on its forest cover between 1997 and 2018. To achieve this, remote sensing and landscape ecology methods were used. Consequently, satellite images from the Landsat sensor were processed and verified in the field to highlight the different types of land cover. In addition, transition matrix and decision trees were used to analyze changes in the landscape. At the end of this study, the results showed that the landscape of the Haut-Sassandra classified forest and its periphery are marked by the regression of forest surfaces in favor of anthropized surfaces (crop-fallow, perennial crop and bare soil-habitat) during the period from 1997 to 2018. Indeed, the surface area of the forest class within the Haut-Sassandra classified forest, which was estimated at 73.7% in 1997, has fallen to just 1.1% in 2018. As for the periphery, the forest class, which occupied 18.4% in 1997, fell to just 4% in 2018. Also, over the study period, the dominant transformation process in the Haut-Sassandra classified forest at forest class level is removal, followed by the creation of new patches of crop-fallow. In view of the extent of degradation, environmental management and preservation programs through agroforestry must be initiated within the Haut-Sassandra classified forest as well as on its periphery.