article · Land
Uncontrolled logging of Pterocarpus tinctorius in the Kasomeno rural area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo brings short-term socioeconomic gains while threatening long-term forest ecosystem stability. Analysis of Landsat satellite imagery from 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021 reveals continuous forest cover loss throughout the period, reaching its highest rate between 2013 and 2017 primarily through patch dissection. During this same window, agricultural lands shrank through spatial attrition, reflecting the abandonment of farming activities in favour of illegal timber harvesting. Intense human activities have substantially expanded the savannah landscape. Across the twelve-year study period, the overall landscape disturbance index doubled from 0.8 to 1.7. Without regulatory enforcement, persistent harvesting will further degrade forest health and jeopardise regional household food security.
Uncontrolled timber exploitation can destabilise natural habitats while simultaneously disrupting rural livelihoods. When lucrative illegal logging displaces agriculture, forest loss accelerates and community food security is put at risk. Documenting how timber harvesting fragments forests and shrinks farmland provides policymakers and conservationists with the spatial evidence required to implement targeted regulatory enforcement and protect rural landscapes.
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The uncontrolled logging of Pterocarpus tinctorius Welw. in the Kasenga territory in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is of significant socioeconomic benefit, but above all, it is a threat to the stability of forest ecosystems. Based on Landsat images from 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021, the landscape dynamics of the Kasomeno region in the Kasenga territory, a P. tinctorius exploitation area, was quantified using a mapping approach coupled with landscape ecology analysis tools. The results reveal a continuous loss of forest cover over all the periods studied, mostly between 2013 and 2017, primarily through the dissection of patches. Also, through the spatial process of attrition, the fields recorded a regressive dynamic between 2013–2017, a sign of abandonment of agricultural activity in favour of P. tinctorius illegal logging. These landscape dynamics are the consequences of strong anthropic activities in the study area, leading to an important spatial expansion of the savannah. Consequently, the level of landscape disturbance doubled from 0.8 to 1.7 between 2009 and 2021. Our results suggest that, without regulatory enforcement, illegal logging of P. tinctorius seriously compromises forest ecosystem health and household food security in the region.
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DOI: 10.3390/land11091541
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