Uncontrolled Exploitation of Pterocarpus tinctorius Welw. and Associated Landscape Dynamics in the Kasenga Territory: Case of the Rural Area of Kasomeno (DR Congo)

Médard Mpanda Mukenza, Héritier Khoji Muteya (), Dieu-Donné N’Tambwe Nghonda, Kouagou Raoul Sambiéni, François Malaisse, Sylvestre Cabala Kaleba, Jan Bogaert and Yannick Useni Sikuzani
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Médard Mpanda Mukenza: Département de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles Renouvelables, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université Technologique Katumba Mwanke, Lubumbashi BP 74, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Héritier Khoji Muteya: Unité Ecologie, Restauration Ecologique et Paysage, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dieu-Donné N’Tambwe Nghonda: Unité Ecologie, Restauration Ecologique et Paysage, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kouagou Raoul Sambiéni: Ecole Régionale Post-Universitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Kinshasa BP 15373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
François Malaisse: Unité Biodiversité et Paysage, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Sylvestre Cabala Kaleba: Unité Ecologie, Restauration Ecologique et Paysage, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jan Bogaert: Unité Biodiversité et Paysage, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Yannick Useni Sikuzani: Unité Ecologie, Restauration Ecologique et Paysage, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi BP 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The uncontrolled logging of Pterocarpus tinctorius Welw. in the Kasenga territory in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is of significant socioeconomic benefit, but above all, it is a threat to the stability of forest ecosystems. Based on Landsat images from 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021, the landscape dynamics of the Kasomeno region in the Kasenga territory, a P. tinctorius exploitation area, was quantified using a mapping approach coupled with landscape ecology analysis tools. The results reveal a continuous loss of forest cover over all the periods studied, mostly between 2013 and 2017, primarily through the dissection of patches. Also, through the spatial process of attrition, the fields recorded a regressive dynamic between 2013–2017, a sign of abandonment of agricultural activity in favour of P. tinctorius illegal logging. These landscape dynamics are the consequences of strong anthropic activities in the study area, leading to an important spatial expansion of the savannah. Consequently, the level of landscape disturbance doubled from 0.8 to 1.7 between 2009 and 2021. Our results suggest that, without regulatory enforcement, illegal logging of P. tinctorius seriously compromises forest ecosystem health and household food security in the region.

Keywords: landscape dynamics; anthropisation; miombo woodland; agricultural development; landscape ecology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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