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Is land being degraded? A multi‐scale investigation of landscape change in southwestern Burkina Faso
Author(s) -
Gray L. C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-145x(199907/08)10:4<329::aid-ldr361>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - land degradation , agriculture , scale (ratio) , land use , geography , land management , environmental degradation , agricultural land , natural resource , erosion , agroforestry , resource (disambiguation) , environmental resource management , environmental science , ecology , geology , cartography , archaeology , paleontology , computer network , computer science , biology
This paper presents the results of a multi‐scale investigation of the social and biophysical dimensions of land degradation in three villages in southwestern Burkina Faso. In this region, technological change in the form of animal traction and cotton has combined with massive migration to create pressure on natural resources. These pressures have, in turn, increased farmed areas and decreased fallow periods. Whether this has resulted in widespread land degradation, however, depends on the scale of analysis. At the broad scale, aerial photos confirm farmers' perceptions that their land resource is degraded, showing decreases in forested land, increases in area under cultivation, and increases in areas characterized as degraded. At the field scale, an analysis of soil samples collected from these farmers' fields in 1988 and again in 1996 indicates that there has not been a widespread reduction of soil quality. Soils under continuous cultivation revealed few changes, while soils that were fallowed during the eight‐year period showed improvement in nutrient status. A study of agricultural practices illustrates how some farmers are responding to the lack of fallow land by intensifying their production system. They nurture trees on agricultural fields, use more inputs and construct anti‐erosion barriers on sloped fields to prevent erosion. Changes apparent on one scale are therefore met with responses which are apparent at other scales. The paper illustrates the importance of farmer perceptions, access to resources and local social structures in determining decisions about agricultural practices. These decisions then shape whether land degradation or land improvement characterize the nature of environmental change. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.