Understanding Drivers of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Africa: A Review

• Published in: Current landscape ecology reports Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 62 - 72
• Main Authors: Assede, Eméline S. P., Orou, Hidirou, Biaou, Samadori S. H., Geldenhuys, Coert J., Ahononga, Fiacre C., Chirwa, Paxie W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Climate change; Climate variability; Conservation; Cultivated lands; Ecology; Farming systems; Forestry; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Land conservation; Land cover; Land management; Land use; Landscape Ecology; Life Sciences; Natural resources; Population growth; Poverty; Reduction; Resource conservation; Review; Soil erosion; Topical Collection on Landscape Ecological Science from Africa; Vegetation; Vegetation cover; Africa; Climate change; Driver of LULCC; Agriculture; Population growth; Woodland degradation; Africa
• ISSN: 2364-494X; 2364-494X
• DOI: 10.1007/s40823-023-00087-w

Purpose of Review
To develop a clear understanding and a critical assessment of current research efforts on the changes and underlying drivers of LULCC in Africa, we provide a global and systematic synthesis of research, aiming at (i) identifying change in land cover and land use; (ii) determining drivers of change and associated consequences for African vegetation and major ecoregions; and (iii) identifying research gaps in the existing literature.
Recent Findings
Despite the divergence in the way changes are driven in African LULC, the main driver of LULCC is change in agricultural practices through reduction in fallow duration, unprecedented population growth with associated needs, and climate variabilities. The consequences of these factors on LULCC include the loss of vegetation cover, soil erosion, and reduction of agricultural yields in specific areas. Studies have shown that shift in forest cover could be linked to the poverty level of the population and the needs for cultivated land, and introduction of marked-oriented agriculture system.
Summary
The main challenge is to develop and implement appropriate context-specific land management strategies, combined with population growth control. It also urges to compute long-term on-site data to assess change in land cover and associated contribution of climate change into the observed changes. Moreover, the relationship between human activities/population growth and the environment causing changes in land cover call for conservation action for a sustainable balance between agricultural production and natural resources conservation. There is a need for agreeing on a common methodology to study for consistent and comparable results in Africa.