Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics Analysis of the Togodo Protected Area and Its Surroundings in Southeastern Togo, West Africa

Amah Akodéwou, Johan Oszwald, Slim Saïdi, Laurent Gazull, Sêmihinva Akpavi, Koffi Akpagana and Valéry Gond
Additional contact information
Amah Akodéwou: CIRAD, Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France
Johan Oszwald: UMR CNRS LETG 6554, Laboratory of Geography and Remote Sensing COSTEL, Université de Rennes 2, 35043 Rennes, France
Slim Saïdi: CIRAD, Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France
Laurent Gazull: CIRAD, Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France
Sêmihinva Akpavi: LBEV, Université de Lomé, Lomé 1515, Togo
Koffi Akpagana: LBEV, Université de Lomé, Lomé 1515, Togo
Valéry Gond: CIRAD, Forêts et Sociétés, 34398 Montpellier, France

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: Assessing land use and land cover (LULC) change is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation, monitoring food security, and research related to climate change and ecology. With increasingly rapid changes in LULC in response to human population growth, a better assessment of land use changes is more necessary than ever. Although a multitude of LULC assessment methods exists, none alone provides a clear understanding of changes and their underlying factors. This study analysed historical LULC changes over a temporal extent of 42 years (1974–2016) in the Togodo Protected Area and its surroundings, in Togo, by associating intensity and trajectory analyses, that are complementary but rarely associated in the literature. Our results show that LULC change in our study site is linked to the combined effects of human activities, climate, and invasive plants, particularly Chromolaena odorata . While each type of analysis provides useful insights, neither intensity nor trajectory analysis alone provides a full picture of changes and their causes. This study highlights the usefulness of associating intensity and trajectory analyses when implementing any management policy.

Keywords: land use change; intensity analysis; trajectory analysis; landscape dynamics; West Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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