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Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations

Received: 28 February 2017    Accepted: 10 March 2017    Published: 24 March 2017
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Abstract

Nowadays, adaptive management of protected areas is lacking objective and integrated indicators for rigorous assessment of their evolutionary trends and the effectiveness of the conservation methods on the basis of conservation objectives and landscape dynamics. The study provides a methodological approach for determining trend indices and historical evolutionary trends which describe the developments of the Rusizi Park known to be the most threatened protected area in Burundi. The study is based on the diachronic analysis of land cover using multi-date Landsat images from 1984, 1990, 2011, 2000 and 2015 and field data. The supervised classification of the images made it possible to identify 9 to 10 land cover classes with contrasting evolutions. The park's matrix, which was made of wooded savannah in 1984 with 43.78%, consists of shrub savannah and cultivated areas occupying 25.87% and 25.40% by 2015. The results showed that during the periods 1984-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-2011 and 2011-2015, the park experienced alternating positive and negative evolutions whose trend indices are Ti [(38, 6); 2D]; Ti [(65, 22); 3D]; Ti [(78, -82); 4a] and Ti [(58, -36); 3c]; the second and the third periods being the most devastating and beneficial ones for conservation. Finally, between 1984 and 2015, the park undergone a negative evolution of trend index Ti [(77, -64), 4b] characterized by “a very strong evolution (4)" with “a strong negative trend (b)" which is represented by spatial transformations affecting 77% of the park, consisting of 82% degradation and 18% increase, resulting in a negative result of 64%. During that time, the park lost 29.9% of the vegetation cover and 31.2% of water resources in favor of anthropized areas, which increased by 94.5%. The decline of the vegetation cover is dominated by savannah and forest loss dynamics. Land cover changes are mainly caused by anthropogenic pressures and the variability of climatic conditions. They are due to six spatial processes which are dominated by patch creation and patch attrition. The results also revealed a high degree of coherence between spatial processes, class dominance and trend indicators. In general, class dominance decreases are linked to patch degradation processes and vice versa. Patch degradation processes such as fragmentation lead to negative evolutions if they affect vegetation and positive developments when they affect anthropized zones and vice versa, for patch development processes like enlargement.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12
Page(s) 31-49
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Rusizi National Park, Landsat Image, Land Cover, Spatial Structure Index, Class Dominance, Trend Index, Evolutionary Trend

References
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    Ntiranyibagira Elysée, Sambou Bienvenu, Sambou Hyacinthe, Abou Thiam, Vieux Boukhaly Traore, et al. (2017). Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 6(2), 31-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12

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    Ntiranyibagira Elysée; Sambou Bienvenu; Sambou Hyacinthe; Abou Thiam; Vieux Boukhaly Traore, et al. Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2017, 6(2), 31-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12

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    Ntiranyibagira Elysée, Sambou Bienvenu, Sambou Hyacinthe, Abou Thiam, Vieux Boukhaly Traore, et al. Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations. Am J Environ Prot. 2017;6(2):31-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12,
      author = {Ntiranyibagira Elysée and Sambou Bienvenu and Sambou Hyacinthe and Abou Thiam and Vieux Boukhaly Traore and Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye},
      title = {Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {6},
      number = {2},
      pages = {31-49},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20170602.12},
      abstract = {Nowadays, adaptive management of protected areas is lacking objective and integrated indicators for rigorous assessment of their evolutionary trends and the effectiveness of the conservation methods on the basis of conservation objectives and landscape dynamics. The study provides a methodological approach for determining trend indices and historical evolutionary trends which describe the developments of the Rusizi Park known to be the most threatened protected area in Burundi. The study is based on the diachronic analysis of land cover using multi-date Landsat images from 1984, 1990, 2011, 2000 and 2015 and field data. The supervised classification of the images made it possible to identify 9 to 10 land cover classes with contrasting evolutions. The park's matrix, which was made of wooded savannah in 1984 with 43.78%, consists of shrub savannah and cultivated areas occupying 25.87% and 25.40% by 2015. The results showed that during the periods 1984-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-2011 and 2011-2015, the park experienced alternating positive and negative evolutions whose trend indices are Ti [(38, 6); 2D]; Ti [(65, 22); 3D]; Ti [(78, -82); 4a] and Ti [(58, -36); 3c]; the second and the third periods being the most devastating and beneficial ones for conservation. Finally, between 1984 and 2015, the park undergone a negative evolution of trend index Ti [(77, -64), 4b] characterized by “a very strong evolution (4)" with “a strong negative trend (b)" which is represented by spatial transformations affecting 77% of the park, consisting of 82% degradation and 18% increase, resulting in a negative result of 64%. During that time, the park lost 29.9% of the vegetation cover and 31.2% of water resources in favor of anthropized areas, which increased by 94.5%. The decline of the vegetation cover is dominated by savannah and forest loss dynamics. Land cover changes are mainly caused by anthropogenic pressures and the variability of climatic conditions. They are due to six spatial processes which are dominated by patch creation and patch attrition. The results also revealed a high degree of coherence between spatial processes, class dominance and trend indicators. In general, class dominance decreases are linked to patch degradation processes and vice versa. Patch degradation processes such as fragmentation lead to negative evolutions if they affect vegetation and positive developments when they affect anthropized zones and vice versa, for patch development processes like enlargement.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Analysis of Landscape Dynamics, Trend Indicators and Evolutionary Trends in the Rusizi National Park (Burundi) from 1980 to 2015 by Remote Sensing and Field Investigations
    AU  - Ntiranyibagira Elysée
    AU  - Sambou Bienvenu
    AU  - Sambou Hyacinthe
    AU  - Abou Thiam
    AU  - Vieux Boukhaly Traore
    AU  - Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye
    Y1  - 2017/03/24
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    SP  - 31
    EP  - 49
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5699
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12
    AB  - Nowadays, adaptive management of protected areas is lacking objective and integrated indicators for rigorous assessment of their evolutionary trends and the effectiveness of the conservation methods on the basis of conservation objectives and landscape dynamics. The study provides a methodological approach for determining trend indices and historical evolutionary trends which describe the developments of the Rusizi Park known to be the most threatened protected area in Burundi. The study is based on the diachronic analysis of land cover using multi-date Landsat images from 1984, 1990, 2011, 2000 and 2015 and field data. The supervised classification of the images made it possible to identify 9 to 10 land cover classes with contrasting evolutions. The park's matrix, which was made of wooded savannah in 1984 with 43.78%, consists of shrub savannah and cultivated areas occupying 25.87% and 25.40% by 2015. The results showed that during the periods 1984-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-2011 and 2011-2015, the park experienced alternating positive and negative evolutions whose trend indices are Ti [(38, 6); 2D]; Ti [(65, 22); 3D]; Ti [(78, -82); 4a] and Ti [(58, -36); 3c]; the second and the third periods being the most devastating and beneficial ones for conservation. Finally, between 1984 and 2015, the park undergone a negative evolution of trend index Ti [(77, -64), 4b] characterized by “a very strong evolution (4)" with “a strong negative trend (b)" which is represented by spatial transformations affecting 77% of the park, consisting of 82% degradation and 18% increase, resulting in a negative result of 64%. During that time, the park lost 29.9% of the vegetation cover and 31.2% of water resources in favor of anthropized areas, which increased by 94.5%. The decline of the vegetation cover is dominated by savannah and forest loss dynamics. Land cover changes are mainly caused by anthropogenic pressures and the variability of climatic conditions. They are due to six spatial processes which are dominated by patch creation and patch attrition. The results also revealed a high degree of coherence between spatial processes, class dominance and trend indicators. In general, class dominance decreases are linked to patch degradation processes and vice versa. Patch degradation processes such as fragmentation lead to negative evolutions if they affect vegetation and positive developments when they affect anthropized zones and vice versa, for patch development processes like enlargement.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal; Geoinformation Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal; Faculty of Agronomy and Bio-Engineering, Department of Environmental Sciences, National University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi

  • Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal; Geoinformation Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

  • Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

  • Geoinformation Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

  • Geoinformation Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

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