Interactions between Climate and Land Cover Change over West Africa

Eric Mensah Mortey (), Thompson Annor, Joël Arnault, Maman Maarouhi Inoussa, Saïdou Madougou, Harald Kunstmann and Emmanuel Kwesi Nyantakyi
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Eric Mensah Mortey: Doctoral Research Program in Climate Change and Energy (DRP-CCE) of the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey P.O. Box 10662, Niger
Thompson Annor: Department Meteorology and Climate Science, Private Mail Bag, University Post Office, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi P.O. Box PMB, Ghana
Joël Arnault: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Maman Maarouhi Inoussa: Faculty of Sciences and Technics, Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey P.O. Box 10662, Niger
Saïdou Madougou: Ecole Normale Superieure, Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey P.O. Box 10963, Niger
Harald Kunstmann: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Emmanuel Kwesi Nyantakyi: Earth Observation Research and Innovation Centre (EORIC), University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani P.O. Box 214, Ghana

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-27

Abstract: Climate–land interaction over West Africa has often been assessed using climate simulations, although the model-based approach suffers from the limitations of climate models for the region. In this paper, an alternative method based on the analysis of historical land cover data and standardized climatic indices is used to investigate climate–land interactions, in order to establish climatic conditions and their corresponding land cover area changes. The annual variation in land cover area changes and climatic changes are first estimated separately and then linked using various spatiotemporal scales. The results show that incidences of land cover change result from abrupt changes in climatic conditions. Interannual changes of −1.0–1.0 °C, 0–1.5 °C, and −0.5–0.5 °C, and up to ± 50 mm changes in precipitation and climatic water balance, lead to 45,039–52,133 km 2 , 20,935–22,127 km 2 , and approximately 32,000 km 2 changes, respectively, while a ± 0.5 °C and ± 20 mm change represents normal climate conditions with changes below 20,000 km 2 . Conversely, conversions of cropland, forest, grassland, and shrubland are the main land cover change types affecting the climate. The results offer a basis for the re-evaluation of land cover change and climate information used in regional climate models simulating land–climate interactions over West Africa.

Keywords: ESA CCI LC maps; trajectory analysis; standardized temperature index (STI); standardized precipitation index (SPI); standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:355-:d:1049358

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