VEGETATION LOSS AND SURFACE WARMING PATTERNS IN FÔ MUNICIPALITY, BURKINA FASO
Authors: KOUETA T. Roland, KAFANDO Halidou and SAWADOGO Abdoulaye
KOUETA T. Roland: Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Department of Geography, Laboratory for the Dynamics of Spaces and Societies 01 BP 85, Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.
KAFANDO Halidou: WASCAL Programme on Climate Change and Education, University of The Gambia, Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 3530, Kanifing, The Gambia.
SAWADOGO Abdoulaye: Joseph KI-ZERBO University, Department of Geography, Laboratory for the Study and Research of Environments and Territories (LERMIT), 01 BP 85, Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.
ABSTRACT
Vegetation dynamics play a critical role in regulating land surface temperature (LST), particularly in semi-arid regions experiencing rapid environmental change. This study investigates the spatio-temporal relationship between vegetation cover and surface thermal conditions in Fô Municipality, Burkina Faso, using multi-temporal Landsat imagery from 2002, 2014, and 2025. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and LST were derived and analyzed to assess long-term environmental changes and their interrelationship.
The results reveal a non-linear evolution of vegetation cover, with a decline in mean NDVI from 0.192 (2002) to 0.181 (2014), followed by a partial increase to 0.211 in 2025. In contrast, LST exhibited a strong warming trend, rising from 35.85°C in 2002 to 41.22°C in 2014, before decreasing to 38.98°C in 2025. Spatial analysis indicates that high LST values are consistently associated with low vegetation cover, while vegetated areas exhibit lower surface temperatures. Correlation analysis confirms a significant inverse relationship between NDVI and LST across all years (r = -0.62 to -0.71, p < 0.001) highlighting a strong biophysical coupling between vegetation density and surface thermal behavior. The strongest relationship was observed in 2014, corresponding to the peak warming period. These findings demonstrate that vegetation loss contributes significantly to surface warming, while vegetation recovery partially mitigates thermal intensity. The study underscores the importance of vegetation restoration and sustainable land management strategies for climate adaptation in semi-arid urbanizing landscapes. Furthermore, it highlights the effectiveness of integrating remote sensing indices for monitoring environmental change in data-scarce regions.
Keywords: Land Surface Temperature, NDVI, Vegetation Dynamics, Surface Warming, Remote Sensing,Fô Municipality (Burkina Faso)