Dynamics of woody plant cover in the Sahelian agroecosystems of the northern region of Burkina Faso since the 1970s–1980s droughts

Author:

Zida Wendpouiré Arnaud12,Traoré Farid3,Bationo Babou André1,Waaub Jean-Philippe4

Affiliation:

1. Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Research (INERA), DEF, 04 BP 8645 Ouagadougou 04, Burkina Faso.

2. Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), 201, avenue du Président-Kennedy, Montreal, QC H2X 3Y7, Canada.

3. Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Research (INERA), GRN/SP, 04 BP 8645 Ouagadougou 04, Burkina Faso.

4. Department of Geography, University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), 1255, St-Denis, Montreal, QC H2X 3R9, Canada.

Abstract

This study was carried out in the northern region of Burkina Faso under Sahelian climatic conditions. The area was particularly affected by the 1970s–1980s droughts that led to the degradation of land and vegetation. Since the early 1990s, a gradual return of rainfall has been observed throughout the Sahel region. In this new environmental context, understanding the development of woody plants is important for effective conservation and management. We analyzed the dynamics of woody plant cover over the 30 years following the end of the 1970s–1980s droughts by using Landsat images from 1986, 1999, and 2015 with 30 m spatial resolution and taking into account changes in rainfall and land use. The change in the enhanced vegetation index 1 (EVI1) at the beginning of the dry season was used as a proxy for the change in photosynthetic activity of woody plants. Results showed an improvement in EVI1 on 98% of the study area, with a mean increase of 0.20 from 1986 to 2015. This improvement was accompanied by an increase in agroforestry and was weakly correlated with rainfall. The improvement in EVI1 was unstable, however, with a decline from 1999 to 2015 in the areas undergoing regreening.

Publisher

Canadian Science Publishing

Subject

Ecology,Forestry,Global and Planetary Change

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3