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

Ntiranyibagira Elysée; Sambou Bienvenu; Sambou Hyacinthe; Abou Thiam; Vieux Boukhaly Traore; Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajep.20170602.12

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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

Ntiranyibagira Elysée, Sambou Bienvenu, Sambou Hyacinthe, Abou Thiam, Vieux Boukhaly Traore, Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 6, Issue 2)

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 T_i [(38, 6); 2D]; T_i [(65, 22); 3D]; T_i [(78, -82); 4a] and T_i [(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 T_i [(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
Creative Commons	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), 2017. 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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AMA Style

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

Ntiranyibagira Elysée

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Sambou Bienvenu

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Sambou Hyacinthe

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Abou Thiam

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Vieux Boukhaly Traore

Geoinformation Laboratory, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Mamadou Lamine Ndiaye

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

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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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AMA Style

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

Copy | Download

@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}
}

Copy | Download

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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