Institut de Géographie Tropicale, Université Félix Houphouët Boigny d’Abidjan, Laboratoire de Géographie d’Environnement et de Gestion des Risques (LAGERIS), Côte d'Ivoire
The rapid expansion of cashew orchards in the Diabo, Botro and Bodokro sub-prefectures in central Côte d'Ivoire is putting great pressure on vegetal cover. This situation has encountered the sustainability of farms. Thus, the objective of this research is to map the levels of vulnerability of land use units facing the spatial progression of cashew orchards in these spaces. The intention is to raise awareness among local populations and to draw the attention of decision-makers to the real threats of food insecurity and loss of forest cover in these areas. The method used comes down to spatial modeling on Arc-gis from the 2002 and 2017 land cover maps of the study area. The results show a high concentration of land use units likely to be colonized by cashew orchards near the localities. In addition, fallows are extremely vulnerable to the expansion of cashew orchards with 15,892 ha likely to be invaded by cashew trees within a 1 km radius, followed by shrub savannas with 15338 ha.