Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Agricultural Plains of Cul-de-Sac, Maribahoux, and Léogâne (1997–2024): An Analysis Using Remote Sensing and Landscape Metrics - 2025
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Agricultural Plains of Cul-de-Sac, Maribahoux, and Léogâne (1997–2024): An Analysis Using Remote Sensing and Landscape Metrics
[en] In Haiti, uncontrolled urbanization is increasing pressure on agricultural landscapes, compromising both their ecological integrity and productivity. This study examines spatio-temporal land-use changes across three agricultural plains, Cul-de-Sac, Maribahoux, and Léogâne, between 1997 and 2024, using Landsat imagery and landscape metrics of composition (percentage of landscape, PLAND) and configuration (largest patch index, LPI). The findings reveal a rapid expansion of built-up areas, primarily at the expense of farmland. In the Cul-de-Sac plain, built-up areas and bare soil grew by 152%, from 41.26 km2 to 104.11 km2, while agricultural land became highly fragmented (LPI dropping from 94.51% to 57.63%). In Maribahoux, urbanization was more moderate, partly offset by a temporary rise in woody vegetation that peaked at 20.04% in 2022 before declining. The Léogâne plain experienced a 17.38 km2 increase in built-up areas and bare soil, alongside a slight decrease in woody vegetation. Population density showed limited differences in Maribahoux and Léogâne, but marked disparities in Cul-de-Sac, where landscape transformation was more pronounced. These findings highlight increasing fragmentation of agricultural landscapes, threatening ecological connectivity and functionality, and stress the urgent need for land-use planning that curbs urban growth, protects farmland, and safeguards biodiversity.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Jesuka, Roselande ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Henry Christophe Campus of Limonade, State University of Haiti, National Road #6, Limonade HT 1130, Haiti
Bwazani Balandi, Julien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Regional Postgraduate School of Integrated Management of Tropical Forests and Territories, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Salomon, Waselin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Henry Christophe Campus of Limonade, State University of Haiti, National Road #6, Limonade HT 1130, Haiti
Sikuzani, Yannick Useni ; Ecology, Ecological Restoration and Landscape Unit, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Khoji Muteya, Héritier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Ecology, Ecological Restoration and Landscape Unit, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kabanyegeye, Henri ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Université de Liège - ULiège ; Research Centre of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Burundi, Bujumbura P.O. Box 2700, Burundi
Mukubu Pika, Léa ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre
Mpanda Mukenza, Médard ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Department of Renewable Natural Resources Management, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Kolwezi, Kolwezi 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sambieni, Kouagou Raoul ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Biodiversité, Ecosystème et Paysage (BEP) ; Faculty of Architecture, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi 1825, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Oscar, Walguen; Laboratory of Mathematics, Computer Science and Applications (LAMIA), University of the French West Indies, 97157 Pointe-à-Pitre, France ; Department of Mathematics, École Normale Supérieure, State University of Haiti, Port-au-Prince HT 6110, Haiti
Jean-François, Bastin ; Biodiversity, Ecosystem, and Landscape Axis, University of Liège—Gembloux Agro-BioTech, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Théodat, Jean Marie; URBATeR, URBALaB, Faculty of Sciences, State University of Haiti, Corner of Joseph and Mgr Guilloux Street, Port-au-Prince HT 6110, Haiti ; PRODIG Geography Laboratory, Research Building South 5, Condorcet Campus, University of Paris 1, 93322 Paris, France
Bogaert, Jan ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Biodiversité, Ecosystème et Paysage (BEP)
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Agricultural Plains of Cul-de-Sac, Maribahoux, and Léogâne (1997–2024): An Analysis Using Remote Sensing and Landscape Metrics
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