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The Re-Greening of the Sahel: Natural Cyclicity or Human-Induced Change?

Author

Listed:
  • Issa Ouedraogo

    (Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
    World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30677, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya)

  • Jürgen Runge

    (Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Afrikaforschung (ZIAF), Institut für Physische Geographie, Goethe-Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany)

  • Joachim Eisenberg

    (Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Afrikaforschung (ZIAF), Institut für Physische Geographie, Goethe-Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany)

  • Jennie Barron

    (Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
    Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK)

  • Séraphine Sawadogo-Kaboré

    (CAP-PPAAO/WAAPP Burkina, 01 BP 6285 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso)

Abstract

The Sahel has been the focus of scientific interest in environmental-human dynamics and interactions. The objective of the present study is to contribute to the recent debate on the re-greening of Sahel. The paper examines the dynamics of barren land in the Sahel of Burkina Faso through analysis of remotely-sensed and rainfall data from 1975–2011. Discussions with farmers and land management staff have helped to understand the anthropogenic efforts toward soil restoration to enable the subsistence farming agriculture. Results showed that area of barren land has been fluctuating during the study period with approximately 10-year cyclicity. Similarly, rainfall, both at national and local levels has followed the same trends. The trends of the area of barren land and rainfall variability suggest that when rainfall increases, the area of barren land decreases and barren land increases when rainfall decreases. This implies that rainfall is one of the main factors driving the change in area of barren land. In addition, humans have contributed positively and negatively to the change by restoring barren lands for agriculture using locally known techniques and by accelerating land degradation through intensive and inappropriate land use practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Issa Ouedraogo & Jürgen Runge & Joachim Eisenberg & Jennie Barron & Séraphine Sawadogo-Kaboré, 2014. "The Re-Greening of the Sahel: Natural Cyclicity or Human-Induced Change?," Land, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:3:y:2014:i:3:p:1075-1090:d:39894
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Rasmussen, Laura Vang & Rasmussen, Kjeld & Reenberg, Anette & Proud, Simon, 2012. "A system dynamics approach to land use changes in agro-pastoral systems on the desert margins of Sahel," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 56-64.
    4. Martin Brandt & Tobias Grau & Cheikh Mbow & Cyrus Samimi, 2014. "Modeling Soil and Woody Vegetation in the Senegalese Sahel in the Context of Environmental Change," Land, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-23, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Turner, Matthew D. & Teague, Molly & Ayantunde, Augustine, 2021. "Eating groups within households: Differentiation in food consumption by age, gender, and genealogical position in rural Burkina Faso," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Turner, Matthew D. & Carney, Tanya & Lawler, Laura & Reynolds, Julia & Kelly, Lauren & Teague, Molly S. & Brottem, Leif, 2021. "Environmental rehabilitation and the vulnerability of the poor: The case of the Great Green Wall," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Colin Thor West & Sarah Benecky & Cassandra Karlsson & Bella Reiss & Aaron J. Moody, 2020. "Bottom-Up Perspectives on the Re-Greening of the Sahel: An Evaluation of the Spatial Relationship between Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and Tree-Cover in Burkina Faso," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Rasmussen, Laura Vang, 2018. "Re-Defining Sahelian ‘Adaptive Agriculture’ when Implemented Locally: Beyond Techno-fix Solutions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 274-282.
    5. Yonaba, R. & Koïta, M. & Mounirou, L.A. & Tazen, F. & Queloz, P. & Biaou, A.C. & Niang, D. & Zouré, C. & Karambiri, H. & Yacouba, H., 2021. "Spatial and transient modelling of land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics in a Sahelian landscape under semi-arid climate in northern Burkina Faso," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

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