Volume 41, Issue 1, November 2023, Pages 197–207
Koumoi Zakariyao1 and Issa Nahimatou2
1 Pole of Research and Appraisal on the Dynamics of the Spaces and Societies (PREDES), Department of Geography, University of Kara, Togo
2 Pole of Research and Appraisal on the Dynamics of the Spaces and Societies (PREDES), Department of Geography, University of Kara, Togo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Galangashie Classified Forest is facing a degradation of its vegetation cover due to anthropogenic factors. This research aims to identify the main explanatory factors of the dynamics of land use in order to propose a development plan for the sustainable management of this protected area. To achieve this, data was collected initially on the basis of survey forms by questionnaire and then by processing satellite images to determine the points of vegetation fires and the burned areas. The results show that four main factors explain this degradation of the classified forest. These are logging according to 37% of the households surveyed, agricultural practices for 36%, overgrazing according to 23% and wildfires according to 4% of the households surveyed. The annual distribution of wildfire points shows high fire activity in the forest. From 2001 to 2019, the areas burned in the sector evolved from 6139 to 5058 ha. On average 53% of the forest area was affected by the fires. The late fire points evolved from 49 to 112 points between 2001 and 2019, hence the vulnerability of the reserve. The results obtained constitute a database for the development of a development and management plan for the Galangashie Classified Forest.
Author Keywords: Explanatory factors, degradation, Spatial statistics, Galangashie Classified Forest.
Koumoi Zakariyao1 and Issa Nahimatou2
1 Pole of Research and Appraisal on the Dynamics of the Spaces and Societies (PREDES), Department of Geography, University of Kara, Togo
2 Pole of Research and Appraisal on the Dynamics of the Spaces and Societies (PREDES), Department of Geography, University of Kara, Togo
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The Galangashie Classified Forest is facing a degradation of its vegetation cover due to anthropogenic factors. This research aims to identify the main explanatory factors of the dynamics of land use in order to propose a development plan for the sustainable management of this protected area. To achieve this, data was collected initially on the basis of survey forms by questionnaire and then by processing satellite images to determine the points of vegetation fires and the burned areas. The results show that four main factors explain this degradation of the classified forest. These are logging according to 37% of the households surveyed, agricultural practices for 36%, overgrazing according to 23% and wildfires according to 4% of the households surveyed. The annual distribution of wildfire points shows high fire activity in the forest. From 2001 to 2019, the areas burned in the sector evolved from 6139 to 5058 ha. On average 53% of the forest area was affected by the fires. The late fire points evolved from 49 to 112 points between 2001 and 2019, hence the vulnerability of the reserve. The results obtained constitute a database for the development of a development and management plan for the Galangashie Classified Forest.
Author Keywords: Explanatory factors, degradation, Spatial statistics, Galangashie Classified Forest.
How to Cite this Article
Koumoi Zakariyao and Issa Nahimatou, “Main Explanatory Factors of the Degradation of the Vegetation Cover of the Galangashie Classified Forest in North Togo: An Analysis Approach Using Spatial Statistics and GIS,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 197–207, November 2023.