Dynamique de l’occupation du sol à la station forestière de l’INÉRA Kiyaka, Kwilu, République Démocratique du Congo

The forest ecosystems of the Democratic Republic of Congo are prone to deforestation, highlighting fragmented and anthropized landscapes. The INERA Kiyaka forest station is not spared. This regression of plant cover is dependent on human activity. The cartographic and quantitative analysis by remote sensing of the dynamics of land use was carried out in order to highlight the essential factor of the deforestation of the vegetation cover between human pressure and climatic parameters. The classification by object with the supervised approach of Sentinel 2Landsat and Spot images made it possible to characterize land cover in three periods (2000, 2010 and 2020). We have selected six classes of land cover according to the realities on the ground: mature secondary forest, young secondary forest, savannah, agricultural and anthropogenic zone, water and palm grove. The analysis of the fragmentation of the landscape was done by comparing the results of the classification of satellite images of the years under study. The cartographic and quantitative analysis reveals a regressive dynamic of the forest formations (secondary forest) and the palm grove in favor of the savannah, agricultural and anthropic zone. The high percentages of regression are observed between 2010 and 2020. This study reveals that since 2000, the forest cover of the Kiyaka forest station has undergone a transformation of its landscape due to human activities supported by population growth