Assessing land use and land cover (LULC) change is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation, monitoring food security, and research related to climate change and ecology. With increasingly rapid changes in LULC in response to human population growth, a better assessment of land use changes is more necessary than ever. Although a multitude of LULC assessment methods exists, none alone provides a clear understanding of changes and their underlying factors. This study analysed historical LULC changes over a temporal extent of 42 years (1974–2016) in the Togodo Protected Area and its surroundings, in Togo, by associating intensity and trajectory analyses, that are complementary but rarely associated in the literature. Our results show that LULC change in our study site is linked to the combined effects of human activities, climate, and invasive plants, particularly Chromolaena odorata. While each type of analysis provides useful insights, neither intensity nor trajectory analysis alone provides a full picture of changes and their causes. This study highlights the usefulness of associating intensity and trajectory analyses when implementing any management policy.

中文翻译：

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西非多哥东南部多哥多保护区及其周边土地利用和土地覆盖动态分析

评估土地利用和土地覆盖 (LULC) 变化对于自然资源的可持续管理、生物多样性保护、粮食安全监测以及与气候变化和生态相关的研究至关重要。随着 LULC 因人口增长而发生越来越快的变化，比以往任何时候都更需要更好地评估土地利用变化。尽管存在多种 LULC 评估方法，但没有一种方法可以清楚地了解变化及其潜在因素。本研究通过关联强度和轨迹分析，分析了多哥多哥多保护区及其周边地区 42 年（1974-2016 年）时间范围内的历史 LULC 变化，这些分析在文献中是互补的，但在文献中很少相关。我们的结果表明，我们研究地点的 LULC 变化与人类活动、气候和入侵植物（尤其是 Chromolaena odorata）的综合影响有关。虽然每种类型的分析都提供了有用的见解，但强度分析和轨迹分析都不能单独提供变化及其原因的全貌。本研究强调了在实施任何管理政策时将强度和轨迹分析相关联的有用性。