Systematic and random transitions of land-cover types in Burkina Faso, West Africa
In-depth statistical analysis of forest transition between land-cover types over time can reveal the dominant signals of landscape transformation, which are needed in order to develop appropriate land management strategies. We applied a recently developed methodology to analyse the transition matrix of six land-cover classes, derived from 1986 and 2002 Landsat images of an area of 15 675 km² in southern Burkina Faso. Results show that most landscape transformations followed a systematic process.