Spatio-temporal dynamics of land use and land cover in the commune of Po, Burkina Faso

The commune of Po in Burkina Faso is an area with high agroecological potential and favorable climatic context.These assets make the commune one of the preferred destinations for agropastoral population, in search of better living conditions.This situation has an impact on the dynamics of land use and land cover.The aim of this study is to assess the nature of land cover as well as the intensity of their use over the last two decades .Changes were detected using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS).The methodology is based on supervised classification by maximum likelihood, which has made it possible to highlight land use and land cover classes.The transition matrix, and the conversion and expansion rates derived from it, indicate that the various landuse units in Po have changed between 2003 and 2023.Vegetation formations (wooded savannah and gallery forest) have declined overall, to the benefit of farms, which have increased by 28.64%.This knowledge of the dynamics of land cover and land use in Po is helping to provide local authorities and technical services with a better understanding of the mechanisms and strategies to be implemented for effective management of the commune's natural resources.