Aims: Land cover change in inselbergs and adjacent areas was studied from 2003 to 2018 in a region facing anthropogenic pressures to assess dynamics and preserve rare endemic species. Study area: Inselbergs and their adjacent areas in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin are included in this study. Methods: Land cover classes of inselbergs and adjacent areas were obtained through supervised classification of Sentinel-2 (2018) and Spot 5 (2003) satellite images. A Chi-square test was used to compare protected and unprotected LULC classes of inselbergs, with 10 m spatial resolution. Results: The results showed that forest and woodland decreased respectively from 8.55% to 3.05% and from 17.63% to 4.79% between 2003 and 2018 while tree and shrub savanna, and grassland increased respectively from 6.52% to 9.49% and from 7.60% to 16.69%. Field and fallow increased from 5.57% in 2003 to 26.12% in 2018 and tree plantation from 6.05% to 13.47%. The analysis of spatial comparisons using the chi-square test showed that the presence of inselbergs in a protected area has no significant effect on their land use. Conclusions: Natural vegetation in inselbergs and adjacent areas is being converted into human-made landscapes by farmers. An urgent conservation plan is needed, including awareness campaigns, tree planting, and sustainable forest management.
CITATION STYLE
Ayeko, R. E. D., Toyi, S. S. M., Assogbadjo, A. E., & Sinsin, B. A. (2023). Dynamics of inselberg landscapes and their adjacent areas in the Sudano-Guinean zone of Benin through remote sensing analysis. Vegetation Classification and Survey, 4, 189–202. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.89746
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