Dynamics of land use and their effects on the landscape in the rural commune of Meguetan (Koulikoro/Mali)

Abstract

In West Africa, the balance of the functioning of savannah ecosystems is threatened by many challenges, the most impacting of which remain climate change, rapid population growth, poor management practices and overexploitation of natural resources.

 Added to these challenges is the general decline in soil fertility, mining, the monetization of agriculture and the level of farm equipment.

The combination of these identified challenges is a major concern for the populations of this region, hence the need for producers to adopt new technical production routes to achieve this objective.

The consequences of these phenomena, now visible today, are the strong climatic variability manifested by extreme frequencies of drought and flooding, the disappearance of water bodies (sedimentation of watercourses, insufficient water regime) and resulting by changes in the production system.

The coupling of these climatic consequences with population growth and anthropogenic pressure largely contributes to the degradation of ecosystems and the consequent decline in their productivity, the multiplication of conflicts over the use of natural resources, in the urban commune of Meguetan, Koulikoro region. , in Mali.

This present study, which is part of the dynamics of monitoring changes in the landscape in the municipality of Méguetan, is approached under the magnifying glass of in situ data and those collected from satellite images. The main visible lesson is the constant and continuous degradation of the vegetation cover for various reasons.