Contribution of Landsat Multispectral Images to the Land Cover Dynamics of the Toéghin-Bangré Watershed for the Period 1998 to 2022 in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Remote sensing plays an important role in the continuous observation of the earth's surface. It produces large databases that can be used to map and monitor natural resources. To this end, land-use maps are genuine planning and decision-making tools for natural resource management. The aim of this study is to use remote sensing products to show the dynamics of land use, to understand these dynamics and their impact on water resources in general and on hydrology in particular. Specifically, it is a question of identifying the similarities and differences that have occurred, and finally evaluating the rate of change. The methodology adopted is the use of the likelihood algorithm to produce three thematic classifications for the years 1998, 2010 and 2022. Overall accuracy is determined from the confusion matrix, which ranges from 80% to 91%. Supervised classification yielded seven occupancy classes: water bodies, cultivated areas, gallery forests, habitats/outcrops, grassy savannahs, wooded savannahs and bare ground. Quantification of change from 1998 to 2022, assessed by the rate of change (Tc), shows a progressive trend estimated at 31.82% (habitats/outcrops) and 43.40% (grassy savannah), and a regressive trend estimated at -17.92% (cultivated areas); -95.15% (gallery forests); -51.93% (water bodies) and -78.36% (bare ground). At the end of our study, diachronic analysis enabled us to quantify changes between the years 1998-2010, 2010-2022 and overall 1998-2022 with good precision.