Évaluation de la dynamique spatiale des forêts primaires au sein du Parc national de la Salonga sud (RD Congo) à partir des images satellites Landsat et des données relevées in situ

Abstract

The Salonga National Park (PNS) and its biological resources hold significant environmental and economic importance for the surrounding communities that rely on its resources for survival. This study aims to quantify the impact of human activities on the primary forests of the southern part of the PNS using Landsat image classification from the years 2002, 2007, 2014, and 2020, combined with landscape ecology analysis tools. The results revealed that the landscape remained predominantly covered by primary forests between 2002 and 2020, although their area consistently decreased in favor of secondary forests and agricultural zones. Specifically, the area of primary forests decreased from 12,636.82 km² in 2002 to 11,266 km² in 2020. The total loss of primary forests during this period amounted to 10.4%, with an annual deforestation rate of 0.6%. The total number of primary forest fragments also slightly decreased, from 525,142 in 2002 to 524,584 in 2020. Additionally, the results indicated that the proportion of primary forests increased as the distance from villages increased, suggesting a significant impact of village areas on forest degradation. The anthropogenic impact on the southern part of the PNS is clearly evidenced by the reduction in primary forest areas, primarily due to agricultural activities. These findings underscore the necessity for regular monitoring of human activities within the PNS and the development of an integrated management strategy to preserve this ecologically crucial area.

Keywords

• deforestation
• Salonga National Park
• anthropogenic changes
• remote sensing/GIS
• landscapes approaches