Departement Génie rural, Eaux and Forêts, Institut Polytechnique Rural de Formation et de Recherche Appliquée (IPR, FRA) de Katibougou, BP 06, Koulikoro, Mali
The study was conducted in the rural commune of Mokko, in western Niger, an agro-pastoral area. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of anthropogenic and climatic factors on the dynamics of land use change. The dynamics of land cover change were studied through the perception of the population, the analysis of the normalized precipitation index and a diachronic analysis over the period 1990 to 2022 through the use of Landsat TM and TM+ images from the year 1990; 2000 and OLI & TIRS of the Year 2022. The results reveal the progress of the agricultural front, residential areas and bare glacis. This expansive dynamic of anthropogenic areas has been to the detriment of natural formations such as low-woody fallows/pastoral enclaves and low-woody grasses/shrub savannahs. Thus, in the space of 33 years, residential areas have increased by 56.4%; bare glacis by 41.6% and rainfed crops by 15.3% with an annual increase of 1.4% respectively; 1.1% and 0.5%, while low woody fallow/pastoral enclave units decreased by 30.4% and low woody herbaceous/shrub savannah by 20.3% with an annual decline of 1.1% and 0.72% respectively. These changes and succession of land cover units are due to anthropogenic actions combined with climatic variability.