ABSTRACT
In Togo uncontrolled exploitation of forest resources for firewood and charcoal production as well as clearing of land for agricultural and industrial production has contributed between 1987-2015 to the progression of savannah woodland ecosystems and degradation of open dry forest (ODF) resources. In the Assoli Prefecture in the southern Kara Region the problem of land degradation is particularly striking. By applying remote sensing techniques with Landsat data (1987, 2001, 2015) unsupervised spatiotemporal mapping of land use patterns produced preliminary results: a significant area regression of open dry forests (ODF from 22% to 10%), and of forest-savannah mosaics (FSM from 49% to 32%), whereas agricultural fields, fallows, bare soils (FF) and urban areas (UA) showed over 30 years a strong increase in area (from 19% to 46% and from 10% to 12%, respectively). The main factors responsible for these changes are traditional shifting cultivation (slash and burn agriculture), charcoal and firewood production, increase in local population and maintenance and construction of roads.
