Assessment of multifunctional landscapes dynamics in the mountainous basin of the Mo River (Togo, West Africa)

In this study, historical landscape dynamics were investigated to (i) map the land use/cover types for the years 1972, 1987, 2000 and 2014; (ii) determine the types and processes of landscape dynamics; and (iii) assess the landscape fragmentation and habitat loss over time. Supervised classification of multi-temporal Landsat images was used through a pixel-based approach. Post-classification methods included systematic and random change detection, trajectories analysis and landscape fragmentation assessment. The overall accuracies (and Kappa statistics) were of 68.86% (0.63), 91.32% (0.79), 90.66% (0.88) and 91.88% (0.89) for 1972, 1987, 2000 and 2014, respectively. The spatio-temporal analyses indicated that forests, woodlands and savannahs dominated the landscapes during the four dates, though constant areal decreases were observed. The most important dynamic process was the decline of woodlands with an average annual net loss rate of -2%. Meanwhile, the most important land transformation occurred during the transition 2000-2014, due to anthropogenic pressures. Though the most important loss of vegetation greenness occurred in the unprotected areas, the overall analyses of change indicated a declining trend of land cover quality and an increasing landscape fragmentation. Sustainable conservation strategies should be promoted while focusing restoration attention on degraded lands and fragmented ecosystems in order to support rural livelihood and biodiversity conservation.