403 
Symposium on Remote Sensing for Resources Development and Environmental Management / Enschede / August 1986 
A remote sensing aided inventory of fuelwood volumes in the Sahel 
region of west Africa: A case study of five urban zones in the 
Republic of Niger 
Steven J.Daus & Mamane Guero 
Resources Inventory and Monitoring section, Forestry and Land Use Planning project, Niamey, Niger 
Lawally Ada 
Department of Agronomy, University of Niamey, Niger 
Abstract: An inventory of fuelwood volume has been conducted in five urban zones, totaling approximately 
150,000 square kilometers, in the Republic of Niger using an approach aided by the interpretation of LANDSAT 
satellite images and medium scale aerial photography. The purpose was to provide planning level information to 
assist the government of Niger (GON) in making a general assessment of fuelwood supplies available in 
important regions of the country. Using a soil/vegetation/land form base map (at a scale of 1/200,000), 
produced with the aid of the LANDSAT imagery and the aerial photography, 349 field sites were identified for 
the collection of field data. The sites were selected using a multi-level list sample with a bias toward known 
forestry types. Linear transect data was collected at each site and fuelwood volume estimates were generated 
using cover percentage and height data in a multiple regression procedure. 
Resume: Une inventaire du volume du bois de chauffage a était fait dans cinq zones urbans de la Republique du 
Niger aide par 1'interpretation des images satellites LANDSAT et photos aeriennes a echelle moyenne. Le but 
d'inventaire était de donner au governement les renseignements au niveau de la plannification concernant 
l'offre du bois de chauffage disponible a la population dans les cinq zones importants, une superficie total 
de environs 150.000 kilometres carre. Un total de 349 sites de terrain a était reparti a l'aid d'une carte 
sol/vegetation/forme de terrain realise des efforts comprenee de 1'interpretation des images satellites et les 
photos aeriennes. Les sites a etaitent choisi par rapport d'une méthode d'échantillonage par liste 
multi-niveau, et le choix était pondéré vers les terrains forestiers. Les données quantitatives etaitent 
collecte par rapport d'un système des transects et le volume du bois de chauffage, en steres par kilometer 
carre, était calcule utlisent une equation de regression multiple. 
1.0 INTRODUCTION 
The results presented in this paper are from work 
completed at the Resource Inventory and Monitoring 
(RIM) section of the Forestry and Land Use Planning 
(FLUP) project. This project is funded under the 
cooperative agreement #683-0230, between the United 
States Agency for International Development (USAID) 
and the government of the Republic of Niger (GON). 
The primary aim of this bilateral project is to 
established within the National Forest Service (NFS) 
of the GON a unit, the Office of Technical 
Assistance (OTA), capable of furnishing technical 
information regarding natural resources, for the 
purposes of planning. 
The RIM section was established within the 
structure of the FLUP project in order to: 1) 
develop and implement resource inventory methods 
appropriate to the various information needs of the 
GON, and, 2) train GON forestry personnel in the 
planning and conduct of such inventories. It is 
intended that the developed capability of the RIM 
section, both the procedures instituted and the 
personnel trained, will become an integral part of 
the OTA. 
An essential element of a training program, 
especially in the field of inventory science, is to 
identify actual information requirements and use 
them as practical examples. During the design phase 
of the FLUP project several basic information needs 
were identified regarding forestry resources in 
Niger. One major information lack at the present 
time is the volume of wood presently available for 
use by the population for cooking and heating 
purposes. Without this figure it is very difficult 
to develop appropriate and coordinated plans for 
proper management and/or exploitation of the 
resource. The provision of this information was 
identified as one of the practical objectives to be 
addressed by the RIM section. 
2.0 IDENTIFICATION OF THE APPROACH USED TO 
ESTIMATE FUELWOOD VOLUMES IN SELECTED URBAN ZONES 
2.1 Context and consideration regarding the 
approach 
The approach to the production of fuelwood volume 
estimates was identified through consideration of: 
1) the GON's expressed need to know what volume of 
fuelwood exists, and where, 2) constraints to the 
level of effort, 3) the types and amounts of source, 
or base, data available, 4) previous work completed, 
and 5) capabilities of the RIM section personnel. 
The approach designed included the following major 
elements. An inventory with two phases, the first 
with the objective of producing a suitable base map 
showing the distribution of fuelwood related ground 
conditions, and a second phase to estimate the 
volume of fuelwood. Both phases rely heavily 
on the interpretation of remotely sensed data, and 
statistical sampling and data analysis procedures 
will be employed. This approach will maximize the 
efficiency of the mapping and volume estimation 
procedures, as necessitated by the constraints faced 
by the RIM section, and will produce valid and 
comparable volume estimates due to the application 
of the statistical procedures. 
2.2 Selection of the zones to be inventoried 
Fuelwood volumes were estimated for the five zones 
shown in Figure 1. These zones are circles, with a 
radius of 100 kilometers, and have a major urban 
center at the foci. The 100 kilometer radius was 
selected for two primary reasons. Within the limits 
of these zones lives a large majority of the 
population of Niger. This is where the greatest 
pressure exists on the fuelwood resource, and where 
accurate and precise information is essential for