Satellite Remote Sensing of Land-use in Northern Burkina Faso—The Case of Kolel Village

Rasmussen, Kjeld & Anette Reenberg: Satellite Remote Sensing of Land-use in Northern Burkina Faso—the Case of Kolel Village. Geografisk Tidsskrift 92:86–93. Copenhagen 1992. On the basis of SPOT satellite images from 1986, 1988 and 1989, the millet fields of the village Kolel in northern Burkina Faso have been mapped, and changes in land-use pattern from year to year have been identified. This article demonstrates that it is feasible to map fields on the basis of images taken shortly after the rainy season, and that images from other periods of the year do not add much to the precision obtained. The field pattern and the changes from year to year are discussed with reference to the agricultural system. The observations point to the presence of both a rotation- and an infield-outfield system. Finally the implications of these findings for the future application of satellite images in agricultural and environmental monitoring are discussed.